Those High School Days
by Write it Right
Summary: Celeste Harrington has moved to Alexandria, and Alan's in for a major change... rated PG-13 for thematic elements and some dangerous action!
1. Something Has Begun

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Those High School Days 

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Part 1: Something Has Begun

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Disclaimer: Alan, Gerry, Ray, Alan's parents, Petey, and all other characters that are related to/mentioned in Remember the Titans are NOT mine. I just used them as I'm sure you all know. They belong to that multi-million dollar company who's mascot is an over-sized mouse... ;) All other non-familiar faces/characters are mine, such as Celeste (duh!), her parents, Chad, Susan, etc.  
**Note:** I have some idea of what I want my personal characters to look like. I play Celeste, Oliver Platt plays Mr. Harrington, Bonnie Hunt plays Mrs. Harrington, Will Friedle plays Chad, Tom Hanks plays Tom Richards, Susan is played by Natalie Portman, and Lisa is the blonde cheerleader on RTT (you see her when the guys are driving up to T.C. in a bus from winning their game and she is shaking her pom-poms and yelling, "Yeah!!!" She's on-screen there for like, 4 to 5 seconds). All other characters I have a general idea of what they look like, but I can't explain them or find an actor/actress to play them!

~*~*~

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September 15, 1970

"Hey, Alan! Over here, man!" Gerry Bertier called, waving to his friend.

Alan Bosley turned around and spotted Gerry, who was by Ray Budds and a bunch of other guys, many of them from the football team. Gerry smiled and motioned for him to come over there. Alan acknowledged with a nod and began weaving his way through the crowd of partiers. It was Susan Elitcher's birthday, and being the most popular and pretty girl in school since sixth grade, many friends, football players, and admirers had been invited to celebrate. That is, only the _popular_ and _cool_ friends, football players, and admirers had been invited. You would never see any of the "losers" at one of Susan's parties, such as the nerds and unfashionable people. As he reached the group of his football friends, Alan was just glad that he wasn't a "loser."

"Hey, man! How's it goin'?" Gerry asked, whacking hands with Alan.

"Good! How's the party so far?"

"Fun. Why are you so late, man?" Ray replied.

"Oh, my car wouldn't start up. Something's wrong with it, so I had to take my parents' car," Alan sighed. "I'm taking my car into the shop tomorrow to have it looked at."

Gerry shook his head. "That's too bad, man. But, hey, forget about that for now and just have fun!"

"Yeah, I will," Alan smiled. After chatting with the guys for a little while, he excused himself and went over to Susan, who was totally surrounded by people. Alan finally reached her and apologized for being late, handing her a small gift. She took it and brushed away his apology, smiling and saying it was all right.

"At least you made it!" Susan laughed.

Alan smiled and chuckled uncertainly. He quickly excused himself and headed towards the snack table. Susan had liked him since three years ago in 7th grade, but he had never returned her feelings. She was too much of a girl for him, always worried about her looks and never caring about whether the football team had won their game or not. He avoided her whenever he could, but wasn't about to be so rude as to not come to her party. Though right about now, he wished he _was_ a "loser."

After an hour of talking, dancing, and laughing, Alan went and got some punch to drink. Dancing sure was fun, but it made you tired after a while. Leaning against the wall, he watched the people minger about in their own little groups. A song came on and some kids started dancing again. As the music blared, Alan watched Susan's futile attempts to dance to the beat. Her moves and steps were so big and showy that her timing was off and unsynchronized. Alan snorted distastefully. That was another thing he disliked about Susan: everything she did was ostentatious. She knew she was the most pretty girl in school and extremely popular, but was always just trying to show off more and more. This party, for examply, was huge. Yes, she was turning 16, but was this loud music, piles of food, and inviting almost everyone from Hammond High really necessary? Alan didn't think so. Heck, when he'd turned 16 just this past summer all he'd done was have some guys over for cake and ice cream and they'd roller skated at the rink after that!

Susan tried in vain to swing her hips, and since she thought she was good, she laughed the whole time. Alan rolled his eyes and looked away, disgusted. He let his eyes drift over the sea of people until they came to rest on another girl. She was of medium height and had short, dirty and strawberry blonde hair that flipped out at the ends. Dancing with a group of some-what popular people, the girl laughed while she moved in time with the music. And she _could_ move, Alan noticed. She _had_ the moves. She could dance. She was groovy!

Alan made his way over to Gerry and Ray, who were standing by the punch bowl, talking. "Hey, guys! Umm... isn't that a new girl? What's her name?" Alan asked curiously, pointing.

Both Gerry and Ray looked. "I don't know her name, man. But she must be new, 'cause I've never seen her before," Gerry spoke.

"Yeah, she's new. Met her when school started," Ray commented.

"Oh, is she in your guys' grade?" Alan asked.

Ray shook his head. "No! She's a sophomore just like you, Alan, but she doesn't go to Hammond. She goes to that Christian school here in town."

Alan looked surprised. "No wonder she never really caught my eye 'till now! Look at her. She's good at dancing. REALLY good."

Gerry glanced from the girl to Alan. Then he grinned slyly and said, "Oh! I get it! Do you dig her, Alan?"

Alan raised his eyebrows. "Who? _Me_? Well, I... maybe. Maybe I do, but..." He trailed off as the girl walked by with some friends. Alan's eyes followed her the whole time.

Ray leaned in towards Alan and whispered, "I bet you want to know more about her, huh?"

Alan quickly turned to Ray and begged, "Tell me everything!"

Gerry laughed. Ray smiled. "Well, I met her when she asked me where the cheerleading practice was because she had to meet her friend there. Her name's Celeste Harrington, and she just moved here from Washington state. But we didn't talk long, so I don't have anymore info for you, man."

"Was she nice?" Alan questioned.

"Yeah," Ray answered.  
"How old is she? What's she like to do? And why is she wearing overalls to _Susan's_ party?"

"I don't know!" Ray stated simply.

"Go ask her!" Alan commanded.

"Why don't YOU? _You're_ the one interested in her!"

"I'm not going to, man! No way!"

"C'mon, Alan!" Gerry cut in.

"You be quiet! You're not in this! No, wait! You _are_: you go talk to her!" Alan nudged Gerry toward Celeste.

"Stop it, Alan! YOU go ask her, 'cause you're her age and we ain't the ones who dig her, man!" Gerry pointed out logically.

Alan sighed heavily. He stuck his hands in his jean pockets and turned his head to the right, looking at Celeste.

Ray slapped him on the back. "Good luck!" He and Gerry walked off.

Alan snorted. "Yeah. Right!" He waited until Celeste was alone, getting some snacks. Taking a deep breath, Alan walked over to her. "Excuse me."

Celeste turned and looked at him. He immediately noticed her sparkling green eyes and soft complexion.

"Umm... I-I was watching you dance a little while ago and I just wanted to say you dance very well," Alan complimented.

Celeste smiled, which made her whole face light up. Alan felt his heart beat faster and faster: he loved how her smile did that! She wasn't as pretty as Susan, but that smile got him...

"Thanks," Celeste said. "Um, my name's Celeste Harrington."

Alan didn't want her to know that he had already found out her name, so, politely, he stuck out his hand and said, "I'm Alan. Alan Bosley."

Celeste shook his hand. "Aren't you on the football team?" Celeste poured the question out right away.

Alan raised his eyebrows and laughed. "Yes, I am! I didn't think I'd ever seen you before, and I felt like I should introduce myself. I mean, I don't want you to feel left out or anything," he quickly added.

Celeste smiled. "That's sweet of you. And you probably haven't seen me because I don't go to Hammond. My brother and I attend Alexandria's Christian school."

"So did you just move here or something?" Alan knew the answer, but he wanted to talk with Celeste for as long as he could.

"Yes, actually. My family and I moved out here from Washington state to be closer to our family and also because my dad's a lawyer and he wanted to be closer to the country's capital. Figured he'd get more business that way."

Alan grinned. "Well, you can't get much closer to the country's capital than Alexandria!"

Celeste laughed. Alan's heart jumped to his throat. All right!!! He'd made her laugh! That was a step in the right direction. Celeste, now smiling, stuck her hands in her pockets. Alan again noticed her plain overalls, so different compared to all the other girls wearing skirts.

Not wanting to be rude by asking Celeste, "So, why'd you get invited to Susan's party if you don't go to Hammond and don't wear 'the fashion'?", Alan instead rephrased his question to sound normal before asking it. "So, how do you know Susan so well already? I mean, you just moving here and all."

Celeste rolled her eyes distastefully. "She's my cousin. I only came tonight because her parents _made_ her invite me and my parents _made_ me come."

Alan was shocked. "Oh, wow! I didn't know that! You don't sound too happy about her, though."

"Yeah, well, she and I don't see eye-to-eye on certain things."

"Like what? If you don't mind me asking, of course."

"Nah, that's okay. I think I can trust you." Alan blushed. "Susan and I are like exact opposites," Celeste explained. "She likes fashion, and I could care less, as you can see. School is very important to me, but Susan uses it as a tool to get popular, not to get smart. Boys is another subject we fight over. She loves boys, to flirt with, that is. I mean, I like guys, too, but I hate flirting. Susan only goes for the well-known and cute guys while I go for whoever is nice and polite." _Like you,_ Celeste wanted to add. Instead she sighed, "I really don't like Susan."

Alan chuckled. "I know the feeling. She flirts around me all the time and it's annoying, man."

Something clicked in Celeste's mind. It had to be! Celeste's eyes widened. "Wait a minute. Are you the one she's digged since seventh grade?"

"Unfortunately, yeah. How'd you know?" Alan asked suspiciously.

"Oh, that little brat! Whenever our families have gotten together since seventh grade, she'd talk to me about this wonderful guy named Alan. Never told me a last name, just said he was SO cute and all that blubber. So when you said how she always seemed to flirt with you and since your name's Alan, I just figured it was you," Celeste told him. _Plus, you're cute just like Susan said,_ Celeste felt like mumbling. "And you went out with Lisa Mayers, right?"

"Uh... yeah." Alan stared at her. All the knowledge she possessed was scary.

"Hey, Celeste! Come on!" someone yelled, waving their friend over as a song started.

Celeste turned her head. "Okay, I'll be right there!" She looked back at Alan and smiled. "Well, I'd better go now."

Alan felt his knees go weak and thought his heart would blow up, it was pounding so hard. "Yeah. It was nice talking to you."

"You, too! See you later, Alan!" Celeste said. "Bye!"

Alan watched Celeste until she disappeared into the crowd. "Later, come soon!" he mumbled.

~ ~ ~

The next day, Alan tried to start his car up to take it into the repair shop, but it wouldn't move. He had to have it towed there. When he arrived at the shop after his dad dropped him off, he was glad to see his vehicle was already being checked out. Someone was bending over the right side of the front of the car, working on the engine. But with the car's hood open and the rear of the car facing him, Alan couldn't see who it was. He walked into the repair garage, looking lovingly at his vehicle. The red Ford Mustang had its black top down and the gray interior was in good shape. The windows were down, the wheels were fine, and the hubcaps shone. Now if only the thing wouldn't cost too much to fix...

"Excuse me," Alan called to the person working on his car, coming up beside it. The worker jumped, obviously startled, and bumped his head on the hood.

"OW!!! Crap!" the mechanic exclaimed, rubbing the sore spot and standing up straight. It was Celeste!

"CELESTE???!!!" Alan cried in awe. He was so shocked he stumbled back and bumped into his car. Unable to keep his balance, Alan fell backwards into the passenger seat, legs hanging over the door.

"Oh, my gosh!" Celeste rushed over to him and helped him get out of the car and stand up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," Alan mumbled, brushing himself off. He was so embarrassed, falling in front of Celeste like that! Now he'd made a bad impression on her. She probably thought he was a huge klutz. Alan slowly looked over at Celeste. She caught his gaze and their eyes met. Suddenly, she let out a small giggle which immediately evolved into laughter.

"I'm sorry!" Celeste gasped. "That was just so funny how you fell like that!"

Alan could just imagine how he'd looked, and he started to laugh along with Celeste. "Well, what about you? You bonked your head on the hood!"

That only made Celeste laugh harder. By the time they had calmed down enough to talk, their stomachs hurt from laughing. As Celeste kept working on the engine, Alan crossed his arms and leaned against the car. He watched her skills for a little while and then spoke. "Hey, that's pretty groovy that you work here and all. I mean, you wouldn't see most girls working on cars."

Celeste wiped oil off her hands with a dirty rag. "Yeah, well, I'm not like most girls. I love cars. When I was five, my parents used to buy me model and toy cars instead of dolls. As I got to be around 10 years old, I would fix anything electronic or mechanical that needed fixing in our house. I also started studying up on how cars worked and ran. By the time I was 11, I could fix my dad's car on my own. When we moved here, I was thrilled to see this place was in need of a mechanic. So I started working here even though I was under normal working age. Tom, my boss, said it's a gift, my way of being able to fix cars, radios, TV's, blenders, you name it."

"Wow! But hold on. What do you mean, 'under normal working age'?" Alan questioned, holding up a hand.

"I'm 14. Tom usually only lets 16-year-olds work here, but, as I said, he made an exception. Besides, I'm turning 15 soon," Celeste shrugged.

"Oh, really? When?" Alan asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"On December 2," Celeste answered absently, frowning at the engine of Alan's car, fists on her hips.

Alan noticed the look. "What? What's wrong with it?" He walked over to where Celeste stood and looked at the big pile of meaningless tubes, wires, and flaps of the engine.

"Could you try to start it up for me?" Celeste asked, thinking deeply.

Alan looked at her. "Yeah, sure." He walked around the front of the car, hopped into the driver's seat, and inserted the keys in the ignition. Turning them, nothing happened. He tried again, but still nothing. Celeste tilted to the side, looking at Alan questioningly. He shrugged.

Celeste nodded. "Thought so. Your battery's dead."

"Oh, man! I just bought this car a year ago!" Alan slammed the door and stood next to Celeste, glaring at his engine.

She turned her head towards Alan, eyebrows raised. "Really? Did you get it used?"

"Yeah."

"Did you get it checked before you bought it?"

Alan smirked sheepishly. "Umm... no."

"Uh-huh. Well, this battery's shot, so you're gonna need a whole new one. Luckily, I believe I saw a new one come in just earlier today. I could have this fixed within an hour for you," Celeste told him.

"Oh, that'd be great. But why are you even working on a Saturday?" Alan wondered.

"I volunteer to work two hours every Saturday just 'cause I love it," Celeste grinned. "By the time I finish your car, it'll be time for me to go home for the day."

"Well, if my car's going to take up some time that you don't need to be here, then I can wait 'till Monday for it to be fixed," Alan said. "I don't want you to stay extra time just to fix my car if you don't have to."

Celeste smiled. "Nah, that's okay! I love it! Thanks for being so considerate, though."

The two stood smiling at each other until the silence was broken by a man walking into the garage. "Okay. So what's wrong with this one, Celeste?"

"Dead battery. I'll install the new one we got and then head on home," she replied, pulling her eyes away from Alan.

The man nodded. "Sounds good."

Celeste glanced at Alan. "Oh, sorry! Tom, this is my friend, Alan Bosley. Alan, this is my boss, Tom Richards."

"Hello, Mr. Richards," Alan shook hands with him.

"Oh, please! Call me Tom," Tom laughed. "So, Celeste, you said he's your friend?"

Celeste frowned at her boss. "Yeah..."

"Just a friend? Nothing... else? Nothing added to that?" Tom probed teasingly.

Celeste caught on and glared at him. "Nice try, Tom. I don't think so."

The man laughed and walked away, calling over his shoulder, "I'll leave you two alone!"

Celeste sighed. "Sorry about that," she apologized to Alan, too embarrassed to look him straight in the eye. "That's the way Tom is."

Alan chuckled. "That's okay. He seems like a nice guy to be working for."

"Oh, he is! He just teases a lot, as you can see!" Celeste laughed. _And it's too bad his teasing wasn't true,_ she thought sadly.

As Celeste started working on the battery, Alan suddenly realized something. "Woah! WAIT! Time out for a second!" Celeste gazed at him with a confused look on her face. "If you're only 14, almost 15, how in the world are you already in your sophomore year of high school?" Alan asked, puzzled.

Celeste shrugged. "I skipped 5th grade. So I was only 10 when I went into sixth."

Alan was amazed. "You're _that_ smart?"

"Well... I don't like to brag, but yes. I get straight A's," Celeste revealed shyly.

"Oh, well, hey! That's a good thing, man!" Alan quickly said. _Wow!_ he thought. _A cute, fun, car-loving, groovy, nice, AND smart girl. This is perfect!_ Alan couldn't have asked for more if he tried.

But he got more. "So when's your next game?" Celeste asked from under his car's hood.

"Friday. Why?"

"'Cause I'm gonna come."

"You WHAT??!!" Alan exclaimed.

"I'm going to come," Celeste repeated clearly, wiping her hands on her dirty and stained work overalls.

"But why?"

"I love football. I've been to all your guys' games so far this year and I plan on going to all of them!" Celeste explained excitedly.

"Wow, that's great, man! I can't believe you love football!" Alan grinned. _All right!_ he thought. _Add football-lover to that list!_

The two talked the whole rest of the time that Celeste finished the car. When it was done, she closed the hoodand said, "There you go! You're all set! I checked the oil, too."

"Thanks a ton, Celeste," Alan sighed gratefully. He gave her some money. Not for the car repair but for her labor.

"I couldn't!" Celeste refused politely. "Alan, don't! I had fun doing it, honest! I don't need money."

"Maybe you don't but you deserve it," Alan slapped the bills into her hand and closed her fingers around them. "Take it! I insist."

Celeste reluctantly slid the money into her pocket. She smiled and looked into Alan's eyes. "Thanks," she quietly spoke.

Alan grinned and went to pay the bill. Celeste watched him laugh at one of Tom's jokes. As his car roared to life and he backed out of the garage, Alan waved to Celeste. She waved back as he drove off.

"So are you going to go home now?" Tom asked. "Or are you going to stand there and stare at where he left for the rest of your life?"

Celeste turned around, arms crossed, and grinned. "None of your beeswax, man!" With one last glance in the direction Alan had departed, Celeste smiled happily and got ready to go home.

~ ~ ~

"I'm telling you, Lisa, it's freaky!" Celeste told her best friend over the phone. "It's just plain freaky!"

"Why is it freaky, Celeste? 'Cause if you ask me, having a guy dig you isn't something to be freaked about," Lisa Mayers commented.

"Yeah, but this is the first guy that's digged me who _I_ actually dig at the same time!" Celeste wailed.

Lisa laughed. "The first time is always the doosie!"

Celeste snorted. "Yeah, you should know! You've been asked out by how many guys now?"

"Shut up!" Lisa giggled.

Celeste laughed. One thing that she loved about her best friend was how she never liked to purposefully show off. Even though she was the second most pretty girl at Hammond (besides Susan) and the most popular cheerleader, Lisa never tried to act as stupid as her. She hardly ever showed off, and even though she got asked out as much as Susan, she hated to admit that fact unless she had to. Lisa was modest, to put it simply. And Celeste totally respected that.

"But, Celeste, you don't have to worry," Lisa encouraged her friend. "Alan's _very_ nice. And FUNNY! He's _so_ HILARIOUS!"

Remembering his fall into the car, Celeste laughed. "He is! When he fell today, it was SO funny! I know he didn't do it on purpose, and that's what made it great!"

"Ha! Yeah, when we dated a little while at the beginning of last school year, he would act so weird just to make me laugh! He STILL does!"

Celeste grinned, remembering the letter she'd gotten from Lisa last year when Celeste was still living in Washington. It'd said that Lisa was going out with a guy named Alan Bosley, and she would get Celeste a picture of him as soon as she could. Only two weeks later, Celeste had received another letter saying they had broken up because it hadn't worked out and Lisa had given up on the picture. Now she and Alan were just good friends, and they liked it that way.

"Actually, I hate to admit this, but I really don't know that much about him. I've told him a lot about me, but he hasn't said much of himself," Celeste revealed.

"Don't go out with him then, Celeste! Not yet! That's how he and I broke up: we didn't know ANYTHING about each other. We just thought the other was cute. Probe around a little and ask him some questions first, then go out. That is, if he asks you," Lisa advised.

"Oh, I hope he does! I've never been asked out before!" Celeste exclaimed excitedly.

"Yes, you have!"

"Well, only by guys I didn't like."

"And those didn't count?"

"Not by a long shot!"

"Celeste, you're weird," Lisa chuckled.

"I know!" replied Celeste, rather proudly. "Well, I better go. It's lunchtime."

"Okay. See you in church tomorrow!"

"Yep. Bye!"

"Bye!" Lisa hung up.

Celeste slowly put her phone back on its cradle, thinking about what her friend had said. Lisa was right. If she didn't get to know Alan a little better, she'd regret it later on. And she _wanted_ to get to know him. So far all she knew about him was that he was nice, polite, cute, funny, on the football team, and around her age. Celeste just hoped Alan believed the same things she did.

~ ~ ~

Alan opened his hymnal. As the organ started to blow out its notes for the first song, the congregation stood up. Alan followed and started singing along with the music. He had barely been singing for half a minute when he heard a sweet and clear voice. How he noticed that single voice in the huge sea of people, he wasn't sure. Maybe it was because it was so beautiful and gentle, like how a mother's voice would sound as she sang lovingly to her new baby. Maybe it was because it was so strong and sure of itself, like the person who the voice belonged to had sung their entire life because it was a natural thing to do. Maybe it was because the person the voice belonged to was standing _right in front of him_...

Alan tried to catch a glimpse of the girl's face, but she was looking either straight ahead or down at her psalter hymnal. There was something way too familiar about the girl. She had short hair that was half up and half down, some pulled back in a small ponytail and some hanging around her neck. As the song ended and everyone sat back down again, Alan kept his eyes locked on the girl. When she turned her head to whisper something to the woman next to her (probably her mother), Alan's eyes widened. It was none other than Celeste, AGAIN! Alan shook his head in utter amusement, grinning. They always seemed to stumble into each other's paths!

It was hard for Alan to concentrate through the rest of the church service. During the sermon, he had questions racing through his mind. Was this Celeste's church? Why hadn't he seen her here before if it was? Why WAS she here? Did she believe the same things he did? As the pastor started praying, Alan kept glancing at Celeste every once in a while. She was very pretty, all dressed up in her yellow tank top and black skirt.

Someone nudged him. "Alan! Close your eyes!" his mother whispered.

"Sorry, Mom," Alan apologized quietly. He took one last glance at Celeste and then closed his eyes.

While "Holy, Holy, Holy" was being played for the final hymn of the service, Alan was transfixed as he listened to Celeste sing. He couldn't believe how beautiful her voice was. Something about it made his heart jump to his throat. Something about her _whole being_ made his heart jump to his throat! As people started to leave, Alan tapped Celeste on the shoulder.

She whirled around. "Oh, my gosh! Hi, Alan!"

"Hi! What're you doing here?"

"Going to church!" Celeste said.

Alan rolled his eyes and stated, "No, really? I didn't know!" As Celeste laughed, he smiled. "But seriously, Celeste. What are you doing here? Because I've never seen you here before or anything."

"Well, this is my first time at this church," Celeste explained. "You haven't seen me because I was sick last week when my family went here, and before that we were checking out other churches. But I think we've decided on this one."

"Oh, so you guys are Orthodox Presbyterian?"

"Yeah! It's groovy that you are, too!" Celeste grinned happily.

Alan nodded. He was SO relieved she was the same religion he was. He wouldn't have been comfortable around her if she wasn't. Alan happily watched as Celeste picked up her purse and Bible. His eyes bulged as her arm muscles rippled visibly. She... was... STRONG!!! Even when her muscles weren't flexed, Alan could distinctly see her biceps and other arm muscles.

Celeste became aware of Alan gaping at her with huge eyes. "What?" she yelped, getting alarmed something was wrong. "What is it?"

"Nothing! I'm sorry, but you're... BUFF!!!" Alan exclaimed in awe.

Celeste blushed and grinned, looking at her arms. She shrugged, remarking humbly, "Yeah, well, it comes with the job!" Just then, someone came up to Celeste and told her they were leaving.

"Oh, hey! Chad, this is my friend, Alan Bosley. Alan, this is my brother Chad. He's a junior," Celeste introduced the two to each other.

"Nice to meet you, Chad!" Alan shook hands with him.

"Same here!" Chad smiled. His whole polite attitude vanished as he turned to Celeste and glared at her. "We're going NOW, little sister!" He walked off.

"Okay, okay!" Celeste rolled her eyes. "Sorry, Alan. I gotta go."

Alan shrugged, saying, "Ah, that's all right. See you tonight?"

"Count on it!" Celeste smiled. As Alan felt his heart beat faster and his knees go weak, they heard a voice bellow out to Celeste.

"Celeste, C'MON!!!" It was Chad. By now, the sanctuary was almost empty and the only ones in the pews were Celeste and Alan, so Chad's voice echoed like it would in a deep canyon.

Celeste stuck her tongue out at him and sighed, "Brothers!" She walked off with a wave as Alan laughed.

~ ~ ~

That night after the sermon, Alan and Celeste talked together for a little while. Celeste casually yet sneakily threw in questions, hoping to find out some more information about him. He didn't notice her nonchalance, though, and answered all the questions, not knowing she was tricking him into replying. Celeste learned he was 16 years old, an only child, and loved music and dancing, just like she did. He worked in the Alexandria Hardware Store because he loved tools and building. Alan collected model cars, loved kids, and hated his mom's cat, which Celeste noticed he said with a spiteful tone and a wrinkled nose. She laughed and mentioned that she despised most cats, too. Before they knew it, Alan's parents called him to go home. The two said good-bye and Celeste stared after Alan as he walked off. She was beginning to like Alan more and more every time they met. Not only was he cute, but he was SO nice, and similar to Celeste herself. She sighed dreamily and walked outside to where her parents were standing talking to some church members. Suddenly, Lisa ran up and grabbed Celeste's arm, pulling her to a more private spot.

"Where WERE you today?" Lisa asked scoldingly.

"I was here this morning, but we left early. And just now I was talking with Alan. I fou-"

"Oh, my gosh! Did you find anything out?" Lisa chatted excitedly, wanting her friend to be happy.

Celeste crossed her arms and glared at Lisa in disgust. "Well, I _was_ going to tell you when you so rudely interrupted..."

"Sorry!"

"No, it's okay!" Celeste shrugged off the problem and smiled in her usual sweet way. "Well, Alan didn't even perceive what I was doing! I kept throwing in questions and he'd answer them. It was great! I found out he's an only child, LOVES singing and dancing, hates his mom's cat, likes model cars, and works at the Alexandria Hardware Store. He loves building, you know."

"Yeah, he told me last year. I knew all that other stuff, too, but I just wanted to see if you got anything. Man, he's like, what? Sixteen now?"

"Yep. Why?"

Lisa let out a little laugh. "Ha! It's just weird to think that he and I dated only a year ago already. I was only 14. Gosh, we were too young, didn't know ANYTHING about each other, and look how far it got us! _Two weeks_ _later_ we broke up. Man, it's so groovy we're just good friends now!"

Celeste nodded. "Yeah. That's great!" She secretly envied her older friend who had known Alan for longer than she had and who had a very close relationship with him. They were like brother and sister to each other.

"So, did he say anything else?" Lisa probed, eager for more juicy details on her two friends' lives together.

"Umm... nothing else really," Celeste racked her brain. "He likes kids."

"Yeah, I know that. Lucky for you, huh?" Lisa grinned.

Celeste looked at her friend in amused confusion. "What?"

"Well, you know... you like kids, he likes kids, so you both won't have a problem when you have some!" Lisa smirked and nudged her friend playfully. She ran off, grinning like mad.

Celeste gasped and yelled, "LISA!!!"

~ ~ ~

Celeste trudged into the halls of Hammond High and adjusted her overalls. As she did, the books in her arms fell to the floor with a loud "thud." Celeste looked at the books, then raised her head to Heaven, closing her eyes in frustration. _I hate Mondays,_ Celeste wailed in her mind. She stooped and picked up all the books, grouchily tossing them into her bookbag and mumbling, "I WILL have a good rest of the day," over and over again under her breath. Straightening up, Celeste couldn't wait to walk home with Lisa. She always seemed to cheer Celeste up. Walking down the hall and turning the corner, Celeste shuffled over to Lisa, who was standing next to her locker talking to some boy.

"Liiisssaaaa..." Celeste whined. "I had the worst day at school. Cheer me up!"

"Oh, Celeste!" Lisa laughed. "We all hate Mondays. You're not alone."

"Yeah, I know, but-" Suddenly, Celeste's bookbag slipped off her shoulder and fell to the floor, bumping the boy as it did. Celeste shrugged and pointed to the bag with immense exaggeration. "See???" she stated with growing anger. "This day sucks!" Lisa merely shook her head. As Celeste bent down and picked up her bookbag, she apologized to the boy that it had hit, "I'm SO sorry! I really didn't mean to let my bag fall like that. I'm just having a ba-" Celeste stopped short as she stood up and saw who she was apologizing to. It was Alan! In her awe, some books fell out of her hands and hit the floor for the third time that day.

Alan quickly bent down and picked them up, smiling. "Hey, Celeste! Not having a good day?" he joked, handing the books to her.

Celeste smiled and replied, "Thanks. No, today's not very good, unfortunately. You okay? I mean, it didn't like, hurt you or anything, right?"

"Yeah, man. I'm okay. Well, we just keep running into each other, huh?" Alan smirked. Celeste's knees went weak. Whenever he did that smirk where the left corner of his mouth rose up a bit, she couldn't think straight. It had a hypnotizing effect on her!

Lisa glanced back and forth between the two. "Well, I think I'll be going now..."

"You can't leave without me, dummy!" Celeste cried. "Oh, do you have cheerleading tonight?"

"Umm... yeah. Why?"  
"Never mind then. I thought we could go do something tonight together, but forget it, man," Celeste said.

Lisa nodded. "Well, how 'bout tomorrow night? We could-"

"Woah! HOLD ON!!! Celeste... I mean, Lisa... or, well, how do guys KNOW each other? Aren't you like, _new_ in Alexandria, Celeste?" Alan stuttered.

The two girls laughed. Celeste told Alan the whole story, how they'd met four years ago at camp and how they'd written each other since that time. She explained how moving here was a dream come true, because now she could see her best friend whenever she wanted to.

"Oh, okay!" Alan smiled. "You met at camp, became friends, wrote, and now you're here?"

"Yeah!" they said in unison.

"So that's how you knew that Lisa and I dated for a short time." Alan looked Celeste.

Nodding, she said, "Yeah, Lisa wrote me and told me all about it, but she never sent a picture of you. So when I moved here and saw you at Susan's party, I didn't recognize you. But your name obviously gave it away."

"Oh, yeah! How _was_ the party, guys? No one ever told me," Lisa questioned. She couldn't go to the party because her family had gone out to dinner Friday night together. Plus, Lisa hadn't been invited, anyway.

"Okay," Alan and Celeste said at the same time. Alan let Celeste speak for both of them. "We stayed away from Susan the whole time, so it wasn't too bad."

"Oh, good! She's annoying, huh, Alan?"

The blonde football player snorted. "Heck, yeah, man!"

"Maybe it's a good thing I wasn't invited," Lisa thought aloud.

"Why?" Celeste questioned.

"Oh, ever since I dated Alan for that short time, Susan's hated me. She quit cheerleading when I became head cheerleader last year and rarely talks to me. When she does, it's all snotty-like," Lisa remarked dryly.

"She can't stand to see someone other than herself with me," Alan shook his head in dismay.

Celeste's eyes widened. "That's right!!! Susan wrote me once and said that she was _really_ mad because someone was going out with you, Alan, but she never told me a name."

"Yeah, well, that was me!" Lisa looked rather proud of herself.

After laughing, Alan playfully punched Lisa on the shoulder and stated, "Man, I'm just glad we're buds now!"

Lisa glared and lightly kicked him in the shin. "Me, too!"

"How about we just say we're glad we even met each other at all?!" Celeste laughed.

"Man, is that true," Alan agreed quietly, staring directly at Celeste, who noticed with wide eyes and started to blush.

Lisa quickly decided to get scarce and let the two be alone. So, backing up slowly and pointing behind her, she lied, "Umm... I gotta go. I think I have a class - oh, my gosh! - right now!!!" As Celeste started to ask her something, Lisa diverted staying any longer by running after a boy down the hall, yelling, "Hey, you! WAIT!!! Where's the French class? Hey!!!"

Celeste slowly turned to Alan. "What is she doing? School's OVER. We _don't_ know her!" she joked, putting a hand next to her face so she wouldn't have to look at Lisa.

Celeste's smart sense of humor made Alan crack up. She was so funny at times. He looked at her and realized she was really pretty that afternoon. Her usual outfit of white tank-top and blue overalls showed off her short blonde hair and narrow face. Her cheeks were slightly pinker than the rest of her face and her green eyes were shockingly bright and obvious today. As she smiled, her face lit up in that way that had made Alan's knees go weak at Susan's party last Friday. Come to think of it, his knees were going weak again right now. He had to lean against Lisa's locker just to support himself and make sure he didn't fall into a big pile at Celeste's feet.

Just as Celeste was about to follow Lisa, Alan stopped her by lightly touching her arm and asking, "Want me to walk you outside?"

After she had gotten over the chill Alan's touch had sent down her spine, Celeste answered, "Sure! It's not really that far, though."

"Yeah, but there could be some scary guys that you might run into!" Alan immediately replied jokingly.

Celeste grinned. "Right!"

As they turned a corner and saw the front doors ahead, Alan thought at the speed of lightning. He was hesitant to ask Celeste what he had wanted to ask her since finding out about her grades Saturday. Would she think he was stupid? Would she wonder why he had asked HER and not another person? Would she think he _liked_ her??? Well, he _did_ like her, so what did it matter, anyway?! Besides, he wasn't TOTALLY ignorant of the English language. He just needed some help in it, and he could offer her help in something else in return.

"Hey, Celeste. I-I was wondering... if you'd, um, possibly like to help me with... well, you know: English. That is, when I need help, and I could like, help you with some other subject when you need it," Alan forced out. He looked expectantly at Celeste.

She turned the proposal over in her head as they exited the school. Before they split up to head to their homes, Celeste smiled happily and agreed, "Sure! That'd be great!" Alan smiled at her and said good-bye, walking off towards the parking lot. After Celeste ripped her eyes from him, she noticed Lisa grinning at her. "Oh, stop it!" With that, she headed in the direction of home, with Lisa laughing right on her heels.

~ ~ ~

Over the next few days, Celeste and Alan helped each other with homework (particularly English and algebra) after school for about 15 minutes whenever they needed it. Many laughs were passed around when Celeste made a stupid mistake or when Alan used the wrong tense of a verb. All the jeering wasn't intended to hurt each other's feelings, though, because they each knew the other person would know it was just for fun. With every study time Celeste and Alan had together, they grew to like each other more and more, though they never told the other. At times, either Alan or Celeste would slip up and do something that made it obvious that they had a crush, like when Celeste's elbow accidentally bumped Alan's arm and she quickly jerked away, blushing like mad, or when Alan freaked out visibly because he thought Celeste had said, "Want to date today?" when she'd really said, "What's the date today?"

Friday came and Celeste went to Alan's football game as she had said she would on Saturday. Alan did very well in the game, sticking to his man, making a touchdown, and even intercepting the ball once. Unfortunately, he was not rewarded the game ball; it went to some kid who had made the last touchdown to win the game and beat the opposition, the Groveton Lions. Celeste stayed after the game and waited until Alan had cleaned up so she could congratulate him on his excellent plays. She waved to him as he came out of the locker room, all washed up and fresh. He saw her and grinned, walking over to his friend.

"Hey, Alan! Man, you did some awesome plays out there, man!" Celeste praised him.

He smiled humbly and replied, "Thanks! Glad you were there to see them!"

The two kept talking about the game and certain points in it, like where the ref had called a hold on the Hammond team when it wasn't their fault. Both Alan and Celeste agreed it had _not_ been a fair call.

As the couple was arguing over whether or not Alan should've taken the game ball home (Celeste thought he should've, but Alan insisted that the other kid had done better), a tall, strong player from the Lions came over, smirking creepily. "Hey, Bosley," he greeted Alan sarcastically.

The blonde Hammond player sighed. "_Hello_, Tyler," Alan mumbled through gritted teeth. Celeste glanced back and forth between the two boys. Something about their glares and words made her _really_ nervous.

"And who is this?" Tyler laid his eyes on Celeste. She looked at him suspiciously then glanced at Alan. He had suddenly gotten very defensive, standing up straight with his shoulders proudly back.

"This," Alan protectively stated, "is my friend, Celeste Harrington."

The big Lions' player grinned and took Celeste's hand, kissing it tenderly. "Hello! I'm Kip Tyler."

Celeste pulled her hand away and replied, unimpressed, "Hi."

"She's your friend, Alan?"

"Yeah, my friend," Alan replied.

Kip nodded approvingly and murmured, "Good. That's really good." Then he said louder, "Well, it was nice to meet you, Celeste. I'll see you soon, okay? LATER, Bosley." With that, he walked off.

Celeste cautiously turned her head to look at Alan. His expression was just as she thought it would be: hard and cold, glaring intensely in the direction of Kip's departure. She laid a hand on his arm. "Alan, what's up between you two, man?"

Alan sighed and explained, "Well, it's like this. Kip and I have known each other since we were eight. We met at camp and immediately something wasn't right. He and I were the most popular kids there, so we were always trying to beat each other at something, at _anything_. At one campfire meeting, I set his pants on fire with a burning stick, and he's basically been my top-most rival since then. Every game I play against him is like a fight for life or death for our pride."

Celeste had to laugh at the idea of Kip's pants on fire. But then she became somber and said, "That's too bad."

"Yeah, well, at least we don't go to the same school, huh?"

"That would be a NIGHTMARE!" Celeste laughed.

Just then, a bunch of football players crowded around the two. Alan introduced Celeste to his friends. She was ecstatic when she met Ray Budds and Gerry Bertier, two of the most well-known players on the team. Alan quickly explained to everyone that Celeste was a major football nut. The guys all laughed and said good-night. Lisa walked over and asked Celeste if she was ready to go. Celeste looked reluctant, but said she was.

Alan waved goodbye to Celeste and then thought, _Dang! Tyler was totally digging Celeste!_ It was then that Alan realized he couldn't lose Celeste to Kip no matter what the cost.

~ ~ ~

Over the next few months, Celeste and Alan got to know each other better and better as their families met one Sunday at a potluck and started to do things together. The two families would have each other over for dinner every once in a while, meet at a park to play games, or go to see a movie together. They also went to Alan's football games to cheer him on. Lisa and her family would join in on the fun occasionally, too. On Thanksgiving, all three families got together to thank God for all their blessings. Though when Chad accidentally dumped gravy on Mrs. Bosley's lap, the families joked that maybe Chad wasn't a blessing after all.

December 2 arrived, Celeste's birthday, and she woke up in a very good mood, overjoyed that it was Friday. She was refreshed as she showered and got dressed, then raced downstairs for breakfast.

"My, someone's in a good mood this morning!" Mrs. Harrington commented with faked awe.

Celeste smiled and her face lit up. "Of course! Why shouldn't I be? I'm 15 now."

"Don't even SAY that! You need to stop growing up, you hear?" her mom teased.

"Morning, loser," Chad mumbled to Celeste as he came downstairs. Celeste threw him a dirty look.

"Chad!" Mrs. Harrington scolded. "That is _no_ way to treat your sister, especially on her birthday."

Chad grinned and exclaimed, "I know! I was just joking. How could I do that to my wonderful little sis?" With that overly ridiculous answer, he reached over and gave Celeste a huge bear hug, over-exaggerating on purpose.

Celeste pulled away and mentioned, "Just love me and don't touch me, how 'bout?" The three laughed and sat down to eat. Celeste scarfed down a bagel and oatmeal, dying to get to school so she could get it over with and come home to her sleepover that night with Lisa. She ran upstairs, brushed her teeth, and raced back down, waiting as patiently as she could by the garage door for Chad. He came and they drove to school, Celeste trying unsuccessfully to hold her impatience down.

The school day seemed to blow by quickly for Celeste. Maybe it was because it was Friday and hardly any homework was given out, or maybe it was because everyone was she knew kept saying "happy birthday" to her or patting her on the back. Maybe it was because Celeste just felt so happy. She didn't know; she just assumed it was all three rolled into one. Her day was made better when a bunch of her friends sang "Happy Birthday" to her at lunch. Plus, she was overjoyed when she and Chad drove by Hammond to pick up Lisa and Alan told Celeste that his last game was that night and he wanted her to come. She immediately said she would. On the way home from school, Lisa and Celeste talked animatedly about various topics, trivial or not. Chad simply ignored them and drove.

Celeste walked into the kitchen from the garage, Lisa following, and announced, "We're home, Mom!" Lisa automatically headed to put her stuff in Celeste's room, without having to be told because she had stayed over so much she knew precisely what to do. Chad went to hide in his room just as Mrs. Harrington walked into the kitchen.

"How was school, sweetie?" she asked, starting to wash some dishes.

"Great! It was incredibly fast, with hardly any homework, and everyone was really nice to me. Some of the kids even sang to me at lunch," Celeste informed her, getting a drink of orange juice, her favorite.

"Good!" Mrs. Harrington nodded, satisfied. "Oh, there's something for you on the table," she said, motioning with her head. "Someone left it sitting on the front porch when I went to get the paper and I nearly kicked it into the bushes before I saw it."

Celeste looked curiously at the small package that was the size of a tangerine. She delicately picked up the gold-wrapped package and turned it over and over. There was no tag at all. She asked inquisitively, "Who's it from, Mom?"

"I don't know, honey. It was just sitting there," her mom replied absently, scrubbing furiously at a dirty pan.

Celeste eyed the small package warily, and then shrugged. She carefully ripped the gold wrapping off and opened the lid of the box she found underneath the paper, discovering a red, velvet-covered box, the kind that holds a piece of jewelry. Just as Lisa walked back into the kitchen, Celeste opened the jewelry-type box and gasped.

"What?!" Lisa urgently squeeked. "What is it?"

Celeste was dumbfounded so much that she couldn't speak. She just stared at the gorgeous necklace that lay in the box on her hand. It was a gold heart-shaped pendant hanging on a gold chain. The pendant had a real blue topaz placed exactly in the middle of it, which was also heart-shaped, and the gold part of the pendant was carved with many flourishes and tiny yet elegant details. Celeste was so transfixed by it that Lisa and Mrs. Harrington were compelled to come over and see the gift.

"Oh, my gosh, C!!!" Lisa squealed. "That's like-like pure gold. And a real blue topaz! It's GORGEOUS!"

"A birthstone necklace." Mrs. Harrington stared in awe.

Tenderly fingering the pendant and its chain, Celeste mumbled wistfully, "I've been wanting something like this forever. I wish I knew who gave it to me."

The rest of the night, Celeste pondered over the mystery of the necklace. After a while she gave up and just had fun prank-calling with Lisa. They talked, they giggled, and they bothered Chad as best they could. They went to Alan's last football game. Coach Yoast led his team to another winning season, and Celeste and Alan went home with immense pride.

The next afternoon the Bosleys came over and celebrated Celeste's birthday with her and her family. They gave her brand new overalls and 20 dollars to spend on whatever she wanted. Celeste thanked them and immediately ruled the Bosleys out of the list of people who could've given her the necklace. Why would they give her three gifts, anyway?

Christmas came and went. New Year's Day came and went. Snow was on the ground. Kids went sledding every day. Adults shoveled snow off the walkway or car. February arrived, then March, and all the while Alan and Celeste grew more and more fond and familiar of each other. They were comfortable and happy whenever they were together, yet Alan never asked Celeste out, except to come with him on group outings with their football friends. Celeste was invited by Lisa to go to Hammond's Christmas and Valentine's Day parties, but Alan and Celeste went alone and with no one else as "dates," dancing with each other as friends but never anything else. Celeste was beginning to wonder if Alan was just using her or something, because he had met her and liked her almost since the start of the school year, but he hadn't asked her on an "official" date yet. What was he waiting for? Celeste thought she might as well ask _him_ out if he didn't get his John Brown hind moving.

~ ~ ~

April 13, 1971

"Dang it!" Celeste cursed under her breath. She madly scribbled out a math problem. She was sitting at a table after school, right outside the Hammond building and next to the basketball court, working on her algebra homework. It was Thursday and the teachers had given assignments that Celeste had easily finished in class, except this one. She had nothing else to do and wanted to get her homework done so she could just go home and rest. Unfortunately, the problems were harder than the ones the day before had been, and Celeste wasn't sure she'd get the work done. The day was cloudy and overcast, probably another shower expected of April, and Celeste figured the weather fit her mood perfectly today as she angrily crumpled up her scratch paper and tossed it aside, frustrated.

Just then, a light shadow fell over her paper and Celeste looked up, overjoyed to see Alan standing there. "Oh, hallelujah! I'm so glad you remembered to meet me here, man."

Alan was puzzled. "Why?"

Celeste grabbed his arm and pulled him down beside her. "I need help with algebra."

Alan smiled and scooted closer to her, patiently explaining everything. Celeste caught on and he saw a light go on in her head. As she easily worked out the problems now, Alan hesitantly asked, "Is that all?"

"Yeah, thanks, man! Did you need me for something?" Celeste wondered, not looking up from her paper.

Alan's heart started to beat faster as he stared wide-eyed at her, trying to gather all his thoughts, feelings, words, and guts together. He was SO nervous. Questions and concerns raced through his mind. Was he moving too fast? Would she accept? How would he feel if she _didn't_? Finally, his like of Celeste won over his fears and he thought, _It's now or never!_

"Alan?" Celeste looked concerned. "You okay?"

He jumped and chuckled at himself quietly. "Yeah, I-I'm fine. Just... thinking." Suddenly, he got this huge urge of shyness and he didn't think he'd be able to ask Celeste. He stood up from the table, started to walk away, but stopped. He could feel Celeste still looking at his back. She seemed to be holding his heart, and he turned around. Sticking his hands in his pockets, Alan stuttered, "Hey, Celeste? I-I was wondering... if, um... if y-you'd like to, um... go out with me?"

Celeste was shocked. She knew Alan liked her a lot, but she had about given up on him asking her out. Yeah, they HAD gotten to know each other really, _really_ well these past eight months, especially during their study sessions and family outings, but Celeste had decided that Alan would never ask her out, a girl one and a half years younger than him. He had probably only wanted to be friends with her. But he actually liked _her_ for who _she_ was, and Celeste caught on that he DIDN'T want to be friends. At this thought, she smiled happily, and realizing Alan was waiting anxiously for an answer, said, "I'll have to ask my parents, because I've never gone out on a date before. When would we go?"

Alan looked disappointed. "Tomorrow night around six. Since we don't want to stay out late Saturday because of church the next morning, I figured tomorrow night would be best," Alan explained, shrugging.

Celeste smiled hopefully at Alan. "Well, I'll ask my parents, but I'm sure they'll say yes. If not, please don't feel offended or anything, man!"

Alan tried to perk up. "I won't!"

"Good! I'll ask tonight and tell you tomorrow, k?" Celeste informed Alan. He nodded as she added, "Oh, and thanks for helping me with algebra!"

"Hey, no problem, man!" Alan cheerfully replied. The two headed their separate ways as Lisa came over to Celeste to walk home, both deeply hoping and praying that they'd be able to see each other the following night.

~ ~ ~

Celeste ran into her brother right as she entered her house. Tossing her things on the stairs, she crossed her arms and bit her lip nervously. She plopped down on the couch and turned the TV on.

"Man, what's up with you?" Chad asked as he walked right in front of her view of the screen.

"Shut up and MOVE!" Celeste shot back, eager to get her mind off waiting for their dad to come home so she could talk to both parents together.

"Oh, I see!" Chad jeered. "You had a bad day because you ate too fast at lunch and just now barfed in front of Alan and you never want to leave this house again?"

Celeste looked horrified. "Chad, you're absolutely sick!"

"Well, what's up then, man?" he probed.

"None of your John Brown business," retorted his younger sister.

"Okay! Geez," Chad mumbled as he gave up. "Someone's a bit cranky this afternoon."

Celeste sighed. "Sorry, Chad. I'm just really anxious for Dad to get home."

"Why?"

"You'll find out."

"When?"

"LATER!" Celeste snapped.

"Please? Tell me now? Lil' sis?" Chad looked at her with puppy eyes, trying to suck up to her.

"On a few conditions. One: get your body out of the way of the TV, two: stop those stupid puppy eyes, three: don't call me 'lil' sis.' I hate that."

"Okay," Chad grinned cheerfully.

Celeste shook her head and explained, "Well... someone asked me out, and I want him to get home soon so I can talk to both Mom and him if I can go."

"Who asked you?" her brother excitedly asked, searching for more juicy details.

"Umm...," Celeste hesitated. "Alan."

Chad's eyebrows raised and he grinned a wide grin. "REALLY???!!!" Celeste nodded. Chad roared with laughter as Celeste rolled her eyes. "That's SO funny! I thought you two were just friends! Oh, my gosh! I'm gonna DIE, man!"

Celeste glared at him. "You know what, Chad? SHUT UP AND MOVE!!!"

~ ~ ~

"So can I go?" Celeste begged. She had just finished telling her parents about Alan asking her out. After dinner and after she had cleaned off the table, Celeste had asked her parents if she could speak to them privately in their room. She had told them the whole story and now they were just sitting there with, staring at her with unreadable looks on their faces.

"Well," her dad started, "this is something new."

"Not really, 'cause you had to go through this with Chad, too, right?" Celeste pointed out.

"Yes, but not until a year ago when he had just turned 16. You're only 15 and a half," Mrs. Harrington replied all mother-like.

Mr. Harrington nodded. "You know we have a policy, Celeste."

"I know. Sixteen years old," Celeste sighed. Then she added, "But, Mom, Dad! I'm _almost_ 16, only eight months now, and anyways, Mom, didn't you start dating Dad when you were only 15?"

That got her mom. She was speechless. "She's got a point, honey," Mrs. Harrington mumbled to her husband.

"Yes, but-but... we were mature and ready back then," Mr. Harrington lamely made up an excuse.

"Dad!" Celeste exclaimed. "You let Chad date at 16 when he was less mature than I was. He's STILL less mature than I am!!!"

Her parents laughed. They knew that was true. Celeste's mom spoke up, "Honey, that's a great point. You _are_ more mature than Chad, and we also know you're not as careless with relationships. You choose your friends wisely and you stick with them."

"And you and Alan seem to be good friends. Plus, he's a _very_ polite and nice young man," Mr. Harrington commented the teen.

"AND Christian," Celeste's mom tossed in.

Celeste nodded emphatically, getting nervous and even more anxious than she had been before this conversation. Her parents were killing her as they whispered something between them and nodded.

"Celeste, as long as you're home by 11 and don't let things go too far-" Mr. Harrington started.

"You know that I'm stuck on staying pure, Dad. You don't have to worry. I won't let anything happen. I won't even let him kiss me good-night if he tries."

"Good. And we know your views on faithfulness," her dad smiled.

"We trust you and Alan a LOT, sweetie, and we have noticed how mature and Christ-like you both are," Celeste's mom commented.

"So I can go as long as I'm back by 11 and don't let things go too far?" Celeste pleaded excitedly.

"And if you behave yourself and stay out of trouble until then," her dad joked.

Celeste proudly held her head high, bragging, "I'm _always_ behaved!"

This got a laugh out of her parents. The next words spoken were by Mrs. Harrington, and they were some of the sweetest words Celeste had ever heard. "You can go, honey."

Celeste squealed and ran and gave both her parents hugs, thanking them over and over again. She raced to the door and opened it in a flash, almost bumping into Chad, who was listening in. She looked at her parents' faces: they were glaring at her older brother. Celeste grinned and left the room, deciding to let her parents take control of the eavesdropping Chad. She hopped onto her bed, reached for her phone, and automatically punched in Lisa's number without thinking. The phone rang three times before Lisa picked up. Celeste talked at the speed of lightning.

"Lisa? Guess what?! I'm going on a date with Alan tomorrow night!!!"


	2. The Perfect Night

****

Part Two: The Perfect Night

__

April 14, 1971

"Lisa, I'm SO nervous!!!" Celeste wailed into the phone. She was talking to her friend as she waited for Alan to arrive for their date. That morning, Celeste had gone after school to Hammond as usual and happily told Alan she could go. His face had lit up and his smile was the biggest Celeste had ever seen it. After getting home, she had gone to her room to figure out what to wear, and then she had madly tried to fix her hair. She remembered that Alan had said to keep it casual, but she still wanted to look nice for him. Now she was sitting in her room, staring at herself in a tall mirror and talking to Lisa at the same time.

"You'll be _fine_, C; trust me!" Lisa comforted her friend.

"That's what you said when we met at camp and you told me to follow you to the lake by a shortcut. I ended up with poison ivy," Celeste reminded her.

Lisa chuckled uneasily. "That's right! Oops. Sorry about that."

Celeste merely rolled her eyes, examining herself again in the mirror. She noticed her hair was starting to fall out. "AAAGGHH!!!" she cried.

"What?"

"My hair is too short to do anything with it!!!" Celeste freaked out.

Lisa's laugh came over the phone. "Just wear it down, then! You know how Alan loves it when it's down and flipped out!"

"Yeah. But that wouldn't look good with my outfit."

"What're you wearing?"

"A skirt."

"A SKIRT???!!!"

"Yeah."

Lisa scolded Celeste like crazy over the phone. "CELESTE!!! You can't wear a SKIRT! That's just not _you_. Alan said casual, right? So be casual. Throw on a white tank and your best pair of overalls. Keep your hair down. That's what he told me he loves you wearing and looking like."

"Really? He told you that?" Celeste asked, bewildered as to why he'd like her in such simple attire.

"Sure as shootin'. He loves how you aren't all fashiony and beauty-concerned like the other girls. He loves your spunk and how you work on cars all the time for your job."

Celeste blushed. "Really? That's... flattering."

"You bet it is!" Lisa exclaimed. "So are you gonna wear that?"

Celeste paused to look at herself in the mirror one last time. She inspected herself intensely. She had to admit that she did _not_ look like herself. A skirt on a weekday, on _her_? It wasn't normal. Her hair up on a weekday, on _her_? Not usual. Glancing quickly at her clock, she noticed she had at least five minutes before Alan would arrive. Celeste grinned and spoke into the phone to her best friend, "Yes. I will wear that and keep my hair down. Geez, man, how do you do it?"

"What?"

"Convince me on stuff like this?"

Lisa laughed hysterically and gasped for breath. "Oh, my gosh! I don't know, I just DO! Maybe it's because I'm _right_."

"You're weird!"

"Thanks!"

"You're welcome. Bye!"

"Bye!" Lisa giggled as she hung up.

Celeste rolled her eyes as she set her phone on its cradle. She smiled and quickly changed. Letting her hair out, she ran to the bathroom and combed through it, checking her small amount of makeup as she did so. Celeste had to admit she liked herself better now than how she had been before. Collecting her purse, putting on her birthstone necklace, and sighing with satisfaction, she went downstairs to wait near the door. She peeked out the window on the door, but there was no sign of Alan. She couldn't wait!

"Why are you wearing THAT?" Celeste jumped as Chad's voice interrupted her thoughts. She hadn't noticed him slouched on the couch in the family room, eating popcorn and staring dumbly at the TV. He was now turned around, gaping curiously at his sister's simple outfit over the back of the couch.

Celeste glared back and informed Chad, "For your information, Lisa told me that Alan loves it when I look like this."

"Really? That's FUNNY!!!" Chad roared.

"Why?"

"The clothes are so... so _simple_!"

"Exactly!" Celeste exclaimed. "Alan likes me like this because I'm not into fashion and all that like the other wimpy girls. He likes me like this because it's _who I am_."

Chad immediately closed his mouth and looked thoughtful. "Oh." As he turned around, Celeste stuck out her tongue behind his back and grinned.

Suddenly, Celeste heard a car pull up. She peered out the door's window and saw Alan's red '67 Mustang park next to the curb. She took a deep breath and leaned against the door, her heart pounding hard. _It's okay, man,_ Celeste told herself, _because he's just a friend._ But then it hit Celeste that they wouldn't be friends anymore. They were now boyfriend and girlfriend. Something made her sad: she wanted their friendship to keep going, but she also liked Alan as more than just a friend. That attraction had driven Celeste into accepting Alan's offer of this date. She decided that she _wanted_ to go out with him, but she'd have to talk to him to see if they could still have fun like they had when they were just friends.

The doorbell rang. Celeste jumped and slammed her hand over her heart, scared out of her wits. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a few seconds, and then opened the door.

"Hi!" Alan said brightly, a big smile crossing his face.

His grin hypnotized her for two seconds before Celeste could answer, "Hi! Come in."

"Thanks!"

As Alan stepped into the entryway, Celeste's parents came from the kitchen and greeted him. Chad simply waved and kept watching TV, though everyone knew he was still secretly listening in. Alan also listened carefully, but to the Harringtons' specific instructions.

"Celeste needs to be home no later than 11," Mr. Harrington began.

"Yes, sir!" Alan agreed politely.

"And treat her with respect," Mrs. Harrington added.

Alan looked at Celeste tenderly. "That won't be a problem." Celeste blushed.

Her dad noticed and smiled. Changing the subject, he asked, "So, Alan, where are you planning on taking our daughter tonight?"

"I don't know, Mr. Harrington," Alan shrugged and continued, "I was going to let her decide. I mean, I wouldn't want her to feel pressured into going somewhere she didn't want to go."

"That's very considerate of you," Celeste's mom voiced her approval. "But why would she not want to go where you would've picked?" Celeste noticed her mom's deceiving question: she was testing Alan to see if he would reply the way she wanted him to.

Alan quickly redeemed himself. "Oh, don't take me wrong on that, Mrs. Harrington. I would _never_ take Celeste somewhere unsafe. I don't even go anywhere unsafe. I'm just saying that what if she felt like pasta but I took her to a place where the restaurant served hot dogs?" Mrs. Harrington nodded, getting the answer she had hoped for.

Celeste smiled. "Thanks for thinking of me like that."

Alan grinned back at her. "You're welcome."

The Harringtons said good-bye to their daughter and Alan and closed the door behind them. Celeste was just about to walk to Alan's car when he stopped her on the porch steps by gently grabbing her arm.

"Hey, I got something for you. Wait here." Alan held up his hands in a stopping gesture and ran to his car. After opening the passenger side door and picking something up from the seat, Alan raced back over to Celeste with his hands behind his back. He grinned and said, "Close your eyes."

Celeste giggled and replied, "Okay!"

Alan made sure she wasn't looking and then placed a single rose in her hand. "Okay. You can open your eyes now."

Celeste gasped as she saw the beautiful red flower in her grasp. "Alan! It's gorgeous! How did you know I liked roses?"

"You do?"

"Yes! They're my favorite flower in the world!"

"Oh! Wow," Alan exclaimed happily. "I didn't know that. Just made a good guess then, man. Oh, and it's got a tiny vase with it in the car so it can stay wet while we're gone."

"How spiffy!" Celeste smiled.

"Spiffy?" Alan questioned.

"Oh, a wonderful little word I heard one of my friends say!"

"Uh-huh," Alan teased her.

Celeste laughed and then thanked Alan for the rose. He escorted her to the car, opened and closed the door for her, then hopped in himself. After starting the car and pulling away from the curb, Alan asked, "So where do you want to go?"

"Actually, when you mentioned pasta, that sounded kind of good!"

"Are you serious?" Alan laughed.

"Yeah, man! Let's go to an Italian restaurant," Celeste decided.

Alan smiled. "Well, all rightee then. Italian it is!" He turned a corner and headed towards the best Italian place he could think of. "Is Tuscany okay?"  
Celeste's eyes widened. "Tuscany? That's so... _expensive_!"

Alan shrugged. "It's not too bad. There are more pricey places we could've gone, like the Steak House. Besides, it's not like I'm broke or anything, and you are worth it."

Celeste blushed and looked out the window. Suddenly she realized that they were way too casual for Tuscany, and then that brought up the reminder that she had to ask Alan if they could still have fun now that they were dating. She glanced at him and wondered how she'd tell him.

"Umm... Alan?" she started hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"Aren't we a little... like, _underdressed_ for Tuscany?"

Alan looked at their clothes. "I guess so, but that doesn't matter. We're out to have fun tonight!"

Celeste was excited when she heard Alan's words. He had specifically brought up what she had wanted to ask him without even knowing it! "Actually, that's something I was going to ask you about. I-I was thinking before you picked me up that I really liked how much fun we had before you asked me out, and I was... _hoping_ that we could still be crazy and fun, and not just focus on all the mushy liking and solitude stuff. I mean, that would be nice occassionally, being just with you, but I don't want to hold onto that mindset for a long time. I want to have fun times as well. Heck, we might not even stay together, but while we are, I want things to sort of be the same. Take it slow. You know what I mean? That's like, okay with you, right?" Celeste looked at Alan, expectantly awaiting his ominous answer.

But it wasn't ominous after Alan said it. "Celeste, that's precisely what I wanted for us to do, too. I loved having fun with you and with our families, but I also wanted a little greater relationship with you. Now that I have that, I am so glad you don't want to stick with the 'just each other' idea. I want to have fun and move slowly, too. That's one reason why I waited this long to ask you out. I knew you were young and didn't want to pressure you right away into a relationship with me. I waited until you were older; it almost killed me, but I lived. And being with our families and friends during with this relationship will be great for us: it'll let us share our relationship with them and they'll be able to help us and give us advice about it."

Celeste sighed heavily. "Oh, my gosh, Alan! I'm _so_ relieved you wouldn't believe it! Well, maybe you would, since you wanted the same thing I did!"

Alan laughed. The rest of the ride was spent talking about cars, football, and more things the two had in common. As they arrived at Tuscany and Alan parked the car, the couple started to argue jokingly on whether or not girls were smarter than guys. They kept on fighting as Alan opened doors for Celeste. They were _still_ vehemently yet teasingly tossing opinions back and forth as they walked into the restaurant. The man at the front desk looked at them skeptically as Alan sighed with faked exasperation and told him they needed a table for two. A waiter got them two menus and told them to follow him. Alan and Celeste resumed their conversation. They noticed the waiter was trying not to look at them or listen, though he did glance back every few seconds. As they were seated at their table, Alan and Celeste paused in their discussion long enough to thank the unsure waiter, who hurriedly took their order of drinks and left.

"Was it just me, or did he look really weird at us?" Celeste leaned in and mumbled to Alan.

Alan grinned. "He looked weird at us, man."

"Hopefully it wasn't because of how underdressed we are," Celeste absently said, gazing around at the fancy restaurant. There were white pillars with fake grapevines on them lining the walls, and gold statues were placed in various spots around the room. There was even a working stone fountain in the very center of the restaurant, surrounded by lush, green plants.

Alan glanced around also and replied, "No, it was because of our little debate. And please forget about our clothes. It's not like it matters anyway, man."

Celeste thought of something. "Hey, Alan, why'd you want us to be casual tonight?"

"Oh, yeah! I guess I forgot to tell you. One reason was because of that whole thing of us still acting like we did when we were friends, and also I... I _really_ like you in those clothes," Alan blushed a bit.

As Celeste grinned, she looked at his set of jeans, white shirt, and light green overshirt. She replied, "I like you in that outfit, too."

"That's why I wore it!" Alan revealed.

"Well, that's why I wore _mine_!" Celeste laughed. "But really, Alan, those clothes do look good on you. They bring out your eyes and hair."

"Great," Alan mumbled, touching his hair. "Now you're turning into a fashion girl!"

"No, I'm not!"

"I know, I was just teasing!"

"Dummy."

Alan started to laugh so hard he had to lean back and hold his stomach. After calming down slightly and wiping a tear from his eye, he said, "I'm gonna compliment _you_ now!"

"Okay!" Celeste agreed. She had no problem with that.

"Well, let's see. First of all, those overalls show how incredibly skinny you are. Second, the tank allows me to view your muscular arms. Third, your outfit brings out your hair and eyes just like my clothes do to me, and finally, that gold necklace kind of matches your hair."

Celeste nodded thoughtfully. "Good reasons."

"Thank you! But honestly, Celeste, you look good. And the necklace just tops it off. Where'd you get it?"

"I don't know," Celeste shrugged. "I got it for my birthday. I came home after school and there was a package on the kitchen table. This was in it, but there was no tag or anything to show who had given it to me. Anyway, I rarely wear it because it's so nice and expensive."

"'Cause it's made of gold, right?"

Celeste looked confused. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Plus, that's a real blue topaz and there's a tiny letter C right above it," Alan continued, purposefully avoiding her question.

Celeste held her pendant and looked at it closely. "Hey! You're right! What the- how did you-"

"I got it for you."

She stared at him in awe. _He_ had gotten it for her? She had not expected that. She quietly spoke, "YOU got it for me?"

"Yeah!"

"But you and your parents already gave me those overalls and 20 bucks!"

Alan shook his head. "Those were just from my parents. I wanted to get you something special, something just from me."

"I can't believe it. I love it so much. Thank you, Alan!" Celeste gratefully told him. "For four months you've never said anything, so I figured you didn't notice it and I assumed you hadn't given it to me."

"Well, I did! I waited to tell you until we went on our first date, just to make the necklace seem more special. I had a little '_c_' specially engraved on there for you. Lisa helped me pick it out," Alan explained smoothly.

"She DID???!!! Why, that little brat! She looked like she didn't know a thing about it and swooned over how amazing it was!" Celeste freaked out loudly.

"Oh, she knew. It's called _acting_, Celeste," Alan joked with her.

Celeste leaned over and slapped him on the arm. "Shut up, Mister Five-Times-Player-of-the-Week!"

Alan laughed as Celeste alluded to his accomplishment that year in football. He had had a tremendous year, being awarded Player of the Week five times from the local newspaper and the game-winning ball twice from Coach Yoast. His teammates now saw him as more than a scrawny little boy trying to play football; they _still_ saw him as a skinny teen, but one who was amazingly determined to do his best and had great potential. He had proved himself this past season to be a real player, giving all his effort and playing so well he had been greatly rewarded.

Celeste waited until Alan's laughter had tuned down into a chuckle to say, "Alan, I really do appreciate this necklace. I know it cost you a lot, and I want to sincerely thank you for even _considering_ to buy it for me. Thank you so much."

Alan looked at her affectionately, grinning slightly, and replied, "You're welcome, Celeste. Just seeing your smiling face makes me forget about any costs: it was totally worth it."

Celeste blushed as their waiter came back to take their order. Alan and Celeste had to scramble to figure out what they wanted; they had been too busy talking to even check out the menus. After a few minutes of frenzied chaos, the couple ordered their dinners. Celeste ordered her favorite, cheese ravioli, while Alan ordered a pasta and bean soup, throwing in a salad for them to share. The waiter took their menus, gave them their drinks, and left to get their orders to the kitchen.

After Celeste took a sip of her drink and bit into a piece of garlic bread, she swallowed and grinned. "You know, I could've been really mean to you."

Alan's eyebrows came together as he looked at her in confusion. "Huh?"

Celeste took another bite of her bread and replied casually, "I could've ordered the most expensive meal on the menu just to test you and see if you'd pay for it."

"What??? Where'd you hear _that_?" Alan was very amused. He took a drink from his cup as Celeste continued.

"My mom. She did it to my dad on their first date, even though she hated the meal."

Alan spit out some of his drink as he started to laugh hysterically. He choked on some of the liquid and started coughing as well. Celeste couldn't help but laugh at him because he looked so funny. Alan calmed down enough to talk and clean up his mess. "Oh, my gosh! Your mom really did that? That SO seems like something she'd do, man!" he chuckled, grabbing some napkins and wiping up the drink.

"Isn't it funny? But I'm not mean. I couldn't do that to you!" Celeste giggled.

Somehow the two got on the subject of cats and how they each hated them, particularly Alan's mom's feline. Celeste called it a stupid little vermin of white fluff that didn't deserve to be living, not on _this_ earth at least. Just as the waiter brought them their food, Alan mentioned that he believed the cat was the devil himself. Celeste chuckled and readily agreed. The waiter again left in a hurry, not even daring to look at them anymore. The couple ignored him, prayed, and continued with their conversation, now eating as they went. Time flew by and before they knew it, two hours had passed since leaving Celeste's house. Alan asked for their bill, payed, and escorted Celeste out of the fancy restaurant. As they drove out of the parking lot, Alan spoke first.

"Hey, I had an idea of what we could do now." He glanced sideways at her.

"What is it?"

"Does roller skating at the rink sound okay?"

Celeste's face lit up. "Yes!!! I haven't been skating for so long!"

Alan grinned, looked behind him, and then turned to the left, heading for the rink. They arrived, payed for their skates, and put them on, chatting the whole time. For an hour and a half, they raced, twirled, bumped, and pulled each other, having the most fun they'd had with each other in a long time. At one point, Alan went to get them something to drink as Celeste rested on a bench. He came back and after they had sucked down their drinks, a slow song started to play. The lights went down and a bunch of couples raced onto the rink. Alan stepped onto the rink also, staying right by the side, and held his hand out for Celeste, "wondering if her ladyship would like to come skate?" Celeste laughed and accepted the cute offer, placing her hand in his. They skated together in silence for the most part, holding hands the whole time. Celeste thought she'd almost faint; everything was so romantic, and the way Alan held her hand, calmly yet tightly, made Celeste feel secure. THIS was real romance, not all the locking lips and totally over each other junk. She just wished more people would see that and stop acting so disgusting.

"So what do you want to do now?" Alan asked Celeste as they left the rink. "We still have an hour and a half before you have to be back home."

"Let's get some ice cream or something," Celeste opted.

Alan nodded and suddenly grinned. "Hey, I got it! Let's go to the little ice cream parlor right in front of the park and then take a short stroll."

"In the park? Now? But it's 9:30!"

"So? We'll have the place to ourselves, unless there's other couples there. But we could still have fun; we could walk by the pond and skip rocks or something. That is, if you want to," Alan seemed almost embarrassed by his offer.

Celeste thought he was just so wonderful for thinking of something so romantic and old-fashioned yet fun. She smirked mischievously. "Sure! Bet I can skip rocks farther than you can!"

"You cannot."

"Can to!"

"No!!!"

"Yes!"

"We'll just see about that, man! You're on," Alan accepted the challenge. They parked outside the parlor and went in, checking over the selection of desserts and ordering what they thought looked most tasty. They sat down at a table and talked some more on miscellaneous items. Half an hour flew by, and they headed for the park. Both eager to beat the other at skipping rocks, they headed first to the pond, digging around to find as many small and flat rocks as possible. Each gathered four and Alan let Celeste go first. Hers went five skips then sank. Alan tossed his and mocked Celeste jokingly when it skipped six times. She haughtily threw her second stone, achieving eight bounces. Alan glared. They kept going until all their rocks were gone and it ended up in a tie. The couple shrugged and laughed.

After walking around the little pathways in the park, Alan and Celeste noticed a couple sitting on a bench. They were kissing like mad and were all over each other. The Christian couple quickly walked by in disgust and went towards a little white gazebo with a forest green roof. They sat down in it on white benches placed all around the inside. Alan glanced far behind him at the now departing couple and sighed.

"Man, I hate that," he moaned.

Celeste nodded grimly. "So do I. I was just thinking earlier tonight at the rink about why more couples don't realize how wrong that is. Why can't more people be like us? All we did was hold hands."

"Because we're all sinners. Lust is such a strong temptation," Alan sighed sadly. "I'm so glad I've decided to never do any of that until I'm married."

Celeste sat up straight, her interest snagged. "You have?"

Alan looked at her in fear that she might think he was stupid for holding to faithfulness. "Umm... yeah. That doesn't sound like... _weird_ to you, does it, man?"

Celeste grinned from ear to ear, which made Alan's heart beat faster, and she replied, "NO! Not one bit! That's _exactly_ what I stick to, also! I have chosen to stay pure to my future husband. And... oh, gosh, Alan! I am seriously _so_ overjoyed you feel the same way! You rarely find guys like you anymore, ones that actually care about God and staying true to their future spouse."

Alan smiled slightly and looked away, embarrassed by her compliment. The couple talked on and on about their views of purity and how everything would seem so much more special when they had the privilege of marriage. After talking for about 20 minutes, they fell silent and simply enjoyed the cool evening and its fresh air. As Celeste stared at the ripples on the pond, Alan looked intensely at her. She looked so pretty with the moonlight on her thin yet elegant face. He hoped desperately that they'd stay together for a long time. Suddenly, Celeste let out a quiet chuckle.

"What?" Alan asked.

"Oh, I was just thinking more about our purity deal and one of my favorite songs popped into my head."

Alan loved music and he knew Celeste did, too, so he inquired of her, "Really? What's your favorite song?"

"Well, I have TONS, but the one I thought of was 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough,'" Celeste told him.

Alan's jaw dropped in shock. "No way, man!"

Celeste looked at him quizzically, obviously communicating to him to explain why his mouth had suddenly formed a large _O_.

Alan smiled and his eyes lit up, saying, "That's one of my favorites, too!"

Celeste broke out into the song and after listening to her great voice for two seconds, Alan joined in. They were not afraid to sing out loud, because they had known each other for so long and had previously sung openly many times in each other's company. They took turns, Alan singing Marvin Gaye's part and Celeste singing Tammi Terrell's sections, and they both sang the chorus. When they were done, they looked at each other and laughed.

"Oh, this night has been SO much fun, man!" Celeste voiced her thoughts out loud.

Alan nodded, smirking, and looked at his watch. "Oh, crap! You have to be home in two minutes!" he cried, jumping up and grabbing her hand. They ran to the car, hopped in, and started driving to Celeste's house, teasing each other for losing track of the time. The two arrived at the house minutes after 11. Alan opened the car door for Celeste and helped her out, closing it behind her. They walked up the steps and stood facing each other.

"I had a really great time tonight, Alan. Thanks for everything," Celeste started.

Alan smiled happily. "Good! And you're welcome; I had fun, too."

As Alan lifted his hand, Celeste gulped in fear, hoping he wasn't going to try to kiss her. She wasn't ready for that; they had just gotten together and it would be moving too fast. But all her terror subsided as Alan smoothly held her hand, raised it to his lips, and gently kissed it, just like a present-day Round Table knight. He looked at her with a small grin on his face and whispered, "Good night, Celeste."

She stared at him and then smiled bashfully. "Good night."

As Alan drove off, Celeste held her rose tightly and watched him leave before she went inside. She felt so lighthearted and giddy from the whole night that she felt like she was floating on air as she walked up the stairs to her room.

When she passed her parents' bedroom, her mom saw her and called out, "Hey, sweetie! You're home. So... how was it?" Mr. Harrington walked up next to his wife.

Celeste grinned at them both. "Oh, my gosh, man. It was... wonderful." She preceded to tell them all details on where they went, what they did, what they talked about, and how incredibly chivalry-like Alan was, constantly opening doors for her and helping her in and out of the car. Her mom was particularly pleased to hear this. Celeste showed them her still damp rose and told them that Alan was the one who had gotten her the birthstone necklace, though both had suspected it before and were glad to hear their thoughts affirmed.

"Sounds like he spent a lot of bucks on you, honey!" her dad mentioned.

Celeste nodded. "I know." Suddenly, she burst into a smile and flung her arms around both her parents, hugging them tightly. "Thank you so much for letting me go!"

"You're welcome, Celeste," her dad smiled.

"We're just glad you had a good time," Mrs. Harrington added.

Celeste let go, said good night, and headed to her room. She sighed with a carefree sense of joy and collapsed onto her bed, just staring at the ceiling and thinking over the awesome date. Suddenly, she heard someone clear their throat. She looked at her door and saw Chad standing there with an excited grin on his face.  
"So?" he asked. "How was it? Did you kiss yet?"

Celeste rolled her eyes, slammed the door in his face, and locked it. While she was getting ready for bed, she quietly sang, "'Cause, baby, there ain't no mountain high enough...'"


	3. Grim Times

****

Part Three: Grim Times

Saturday was a cool and clear-sky day, so Celeste decided to go car-shopping. She called Lisa up and her friend readily agreed, but only if they would also go somwhere where Lisa wanted to go, too. Celeste laughed and said she'd meet her friend in half an hour outside Hal's Restaurant. After hanging up, Celeste told her mom where she was going and got a "stay on the sidewalk, be careful, and watch out for strangers" lecture. The strong girl merely nodded, said she'd be okay, and went into the garage, getting on her bike and riding up her street to the main road. As she rode past an empty lot, Celeste noticed a beat up truck and stopped. She inspected it from every angle and noticed many broken pieces on the outside. Opening the hood, she checked the engine: it was totally broken down. Celeste slammed the hood shut and wiped her hands on her jeans. She walked into the store next to the lot.

"Excuse me, sir," Celeste asked the man at the counter. "Do you know if that truck next door is on sale?"

"I think it's just been dumped there. Some guy dropped it off two months ago and he hasn't come back since. Don't know if that's legal or not but it ain't my problem. Barely putted onto the lot before the darn thing died," the store man replied.

Celeste smiled happily. The truck had been exactly what she'd been looking for. "Thank you, sir," she said, starting to leave the store.

The man called out, "Wait!!! You're not planning on... taking that piece of junk, are you?"

"Yes, sir."

"WHY?"

"I need a car for when I turn 16, it's exactly what I want, and I can have fun fixing it up," Celeste stated with a grin. As she left, she had to hold back a giggle after she saw the man's bewildered face. She quickly hopped on her bike and rode to Hal's, where she saw Lisa already waiting. "You're early," Celeste called out as she pedaled up.

"So're you! Guess we're both ready to go do something, huh?" Lisa replied.

"Actually, I think I found my car already. I mean, truck. It's an old beat-up Ford from the '50's that doesn't work at all. I can fix it up and paint it, though, and _man_ I'll have SO much fun doing it!"

Lisa laughed as the two headed off together.

~ ~ ~

On Sunday morning after the church service, Celeste ran up to Alan excitedly and poured out her story of finding her dream truck. "It's just been the _best_ weekend!" she grinned. "First our date, then the truck, and then church. I love it!"

"Did someone say 'date'?" Coach Yoast walked up with smile on his face.

"Yes, sir," Alan replied. "Umm... Celeste and I went out Friday night and had a blast."

The coach seemed happy and asked, "Are you two going to be dating now?"

"I prefer to call it courting," Alan corrected, quickly adding, "Uh, sir."

"I'm glad to hear it," Yoast approved with a nod. "Too many of you kids are blowing away your time with intense dating. More should start 'courting,' like you two are gonna do."

Celeste nodded. "I totally agree, Coach. Alan and I are just gonna take it slow, hang with friends and family and not just each other, and keep God as the top of our relationship."

Yoast replied, "Good. I'm liking the sound of that! Plus, I'm just excited you two are finally together. For months I've watched you both and how you grew to know and respect each other, and I thought to myself, 'They really ought to get together,' and here you are!"

As the two smiled and blushed with pure embarassment, Sheryl came up and stood next to her father. She smiled up at Alan and Celeste in her cute little way and spoke with her Southern accent, "Hi, guys! Whatcha up to?"

Alan shrugged. "Not much. Just telling Coach here about Celeste and I."

"What 'bout Celeste 'n you?" Sheryl asked suspiciously.

"We're courtin'," Celeste bent down and whispered, faking a Southern accent.

Sheryl's face lit up and she exclaimed, "Really? Sure as shootin'?"

"Sure as shootin'!" Alan chuckled.

"That's great!"

The three laughed at the nine-year old who would soon turn nine and a half. As they calmed down, Coach Yoast suddenly remembered something and turned to Celeste. "I was wondering, Celeste, if you would babysit Sheryl for me tomorrow night. I got a board meetin' at the school, an' we're gonna be from 'bout six to nine."

"Sure! No prob," Celeste grinned. She ruffled Sheryl's curly, dark blonde hair and mischievously said, "We have _lots_ of fun together!" The girl giggled.

"Coach? Could Lisa come over, too?" she asked her dad.

"Sure, sweetie. I know you girls like playin' around together when you can." Switching the subject, Bill Yoast questioned Alan, "So, are you gonna play football this season again, Alan?"

"Yes, sir! I plan on it."

"Good! Defense?"

"Yes, sir."

"All right!" Yoast nodded happily. "Sounds great, son. Can't wait to see you on the field. Ya did a great job last season."

Alan blushed and Celeste spoke up instead. "Hey, Coach? Would it be possible for me to go to camp this year? I'd love to help and see the guys learn football better."

"I don't see why not. Your parents would have to approve, though."

"Yeah, I'll ask them. Lisa wants to go, too. Her cheerleading 'would be improved if she could see the guys training,' she said!" Celeste laughed.

"Well, ask your parents, both of ya, and we'll see what happens when school's over." Yoast smiled. As Celeste mentally rejoiced over the thought of going, he added, "You know, you and Lisa are the two most involved girls in this team."

"I know!" Celeste grinned. "Good reason to let us go, huh?"

Yoast laughed and Alan grinned. He really hoped Celeste would be able to go. It would be boring at camp without her, especially after he had just started going out with her!

The coach spoke up, "Well, we'd better get home, Sheryl. We'll see you later, Alan, and you tomorrow night, Celeste."

"Yep! Bye!" Celeste winked at Sheryl, who winked back.

~ ~ ~

"This ain't gonna work," Sheryl grunted.

"Ssshhh!!!" Lisa scolded. "It _will_ work if you'd hush up!"

Celeste looked up at the little blonde girl and whispered, "Sheryl! Did you get it yet?"

"NO!!! I can't even reach the darn branch," she wailed back.

"SHH!!!" was the reply form both Celeste and Lisa.

Lisa groaned as she held Sheryl's feet. Celeste inspected the situation and worked out a plan in her head. "Hey, guys! I got it!!!" She ran in front of Lisa and Sheryl and explained, "Okay, here's what we're gonna do. Lisa, keep on holding Sheryl on your shoulders. Sheryl, just toss it over the branch as best you can, and I'll catch it when it falls."

"Okay, here goes," Sheryl mumbled. She threw the object as best she could over the tree branch. It went over and fell right into Celeste's waiting hands.

As Sheryl squirmed on Lisa's shoulders, she cried out, "Ow, Sheryl!"

"Shut up!" the other two hissed. Celeste quickly glanced around to see if anyone had heard them, but the coast was still clear. She sighed and quickly helped Sheryl down. Lisa rubbed her shoulders gently as they all stood back and checked over their handiwork. After approving it and high-fiving each other gleefully, Sheryl nudged Celeste.

"We'd better get back before Coach comes home," she whispered.

Celeste nodded, and with one last glance behind them, they ran back to the Yoasts' house, giggling.

~ ~ ~

Fred Bosley woke up Tuesday morning and threw on his bathrobe, heading downstairs to get the morning paper and his breakfast. He opened the front door and found himself in a winter wonderland in April. Mrs. Bosley had just come downstairs and had stopped in the doorway, staring in awe. Both were speechless. So was Alan when he saw it. He woke up, dressed for school, and found his parents staring at their white, toilet-papered lawn.

As soon as Alan joined them, Mr. Bosley turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Alan?"

Just as he was about to argue and defend himself, a thought popped into Alan's head, and he was so sure of it he shook his head as he grinned and replied, "I know who did it, Dad."

~ ~ ~

That night, Alan got his revenge. Then Wednesday after school, Celeste punched him on the arm, because she knew he'd done it. He merely grinned and rubbed the sore spot. 

The couple was making an impression on everyone; people started to notice over the next few months their simple way of courting and how they actually cared for each other. Celeste and Alan were found to be very daring yet strong to keep a relationship with someone who didn't go to the same school. But, needless to say, many were happy that the couple was together now, Lisa and Tom to name a few. Everyone admired Alan's gentleman-like behavior and Celeste's lady-like demeanor. Many also adored Alan's sweetness, especially when he gave Celeste a single rose on every date that the two went on together (without a group). She decided to collect them, dry them out, and hang them around her room. She hoped the collection would grow soon, and so did Alan.

The two were also becoming more popular in school - Celeste because she was fun and sweet, and Alan because he had done an excellent job in the last football season and because he was so polite. Everything was great: Saturdays would be spent playing football with the team, school wasn't too stressful for either of them, and Alan asked Celeste to the prom his school had at the end of the year. The two danced and sang so well they were named King and Queen of Dance. They left the prom, faces beaming and ribbons pinned to their clothes.

Then it came. As school was coming to an end, Coach Yoast found out some grim news at a teacher meeting. He came home where Celeste was babysitting and reported it to her as she stood on the doorstep, ready to leave.

"Thanks for watchin' Sheryl, Celeste," Yoast smiled.

"Hey, no prob, Coach. Anytime's fine."

"Okay. I'll remember that." Coach Yoast paused, uncertain how this girl would react to the news. "Uh, before you leave, Celeste, I gotta tell you something."

Celeste was fine. "Sure, Coach. What's up?"

Again he hesitated. Finally, he just forced it out. "Celeste, I really don't know how to tell you this... but, um... I found something out at the meeting tonight. The school board's forcing us to integrate with the black school."

Celeste shrugged. "So? My school already has some blacks, and I don't have a problem with them, sir."

Yoast was shocked. Most people around town abhorred blacks and had problems with anything relating to them. But then he remembered Celeste had grown up in Washington, where blacks were not hated so much, and everything clicked. She had no evil thoughts toward them. None at all. He knew he did, so he could not comprehend Celeste's position on this topic. Hadn't her parents at least told her _something_ bad about blacks? Getting too confused to think anymore, he spilled out the rest of his news. "Okay, well... I have something else to tell you, too. I've decided to not let you and Lisa go to camp with the team this year."

Celeste was speechless as she felt her heart hit rock bottom. He was lying. Or joking. He _had_ to be. "Are you kidding, Coach?"

He shook his head sadly in reply. "No, I'm not, Celeste. I figured it'd be too dangerous for the both of you with the schools integrating and all, especially if black boys join the team. There could be some serious fights, and I'm not willing to take responsibility if one of ya gets hurt. Do you understand?"

Celeste hesitantly nodded, realizing he was right and concerned for their safety, but she was still as disappointed as ever. "Yeah, sir. I... I understand."

"Could you tell Lisa for me?" Yoast asked quietly.

"Sure. Will do." Celeste forced a smile.

The coach noticed the attempt and promised, "You know what? I swear I'll take you and Lisa next year. You two deserve it, things should be calmed down by then, and it'll be your last year of high school, anyway. Good note to end on, I'd say!"

"I have to give you that one!" Celeste agreed hopefully.

"Okay. Do you want me to drive you home?"

"No, you can't leave Sheryl. Besides, I have my bike. Thanks anyway, Coach."

"You're welcome. Remember to tell Lisa, please," Yoast quietly called after her as she headed to her bike.

"I will," Celeste assured him. Mounting and snapping the buckle to her helmet, she mumbled to herself, "Believe me, I will. How could I forget?"

~ ~ ~

Lisa was heartbroken. Celeste had called her up as soon as she'd gotten home, even though it was late at night. The two friends had talked it over together, and both realized the concern, but they had been positive they were going this year. It was like they had almost reached the peak of a mountaintop with pure gold waiting for them when they'd suddenly been caught in an avalanche and had crashed to the bottom. As Lisa hung up, probably ready to go freak out, Celeste decided to call Alan quickly and tell him. He turned out to be just as devastated as the two girls.

"Celeste, this _stinks_, man!" he whined.

"Yeah, you don't think I know that?" Celeste replied with a hint of agitation. She sighed deeply and whispered, "I was _really_ looking forward to this, Alan."

"So was I," he gently told her. "I mean, I'm still going, but I was hoping I'd be able to see you every day there. I hate the thought that I just got together with you and now we have to be apart."

Celeste had to giggle. "Thanks, but it's only two weeks, right?"

"Yeah, but still..."

"Just think about it, Alan. We don't _have_ to see each other every day of every year. Maybe this time apart will be a good experience for us to learn that not all times have to be spent together."

Alan snorted. "Yeah, but, Celeste! We _don't_ spend all our time together. That's one of the things on our list _not_ to do in this relationship, remember?"

"I remember. But, hey, this'll be easier then, right?"

"I suppose," Alan mumbled.  
Celeste made another point. "Plus, this time apart will prepare us for _other_ times we'll have to be seperated. For instance, what if we don't go to the same college in two years?"

"That's right! Lot of time there. I guess this _could_ be helpful," Alan finally gave in.

One of Celeste's crazy ideas popped into her head. "Oh, I got it! Let's make a bet!" Her spirits were finally lifting a bit.

"What kind of bet?" Alan asked suspiciously.

Celeste could just imagine one of his eyebrows raised on the other end of the line. "Whoever calls the other first has to take that person out for dinner."

"That's easy!" Alan laughed. "You got a deal, man!"

"All rightee then! I'll see you tomorrow after school, okay?"

"Yep. Bye, Celeste!"

"Later, Alan!" Celeste was somewhat happy. She actually had something to look forward to now, and hopefully she wouldn't break the bet. She could survive: she could do it. Celeste decided she'd just get that truck and work on it to keep her occupied!

~ ~ ~

Within three weeks, every student at Hammond had heard of the upcoming integration, and many were _not_ happy. Celeste heard some strong language all around town and at Hammond when she came there after school to walk home with Lisa concerning the serious topic, all of which she wished she'd never heard and would never hear again. Things only got worse as school let out and kids could now roam Alexandria freely, with nothing holding them back. Whenever they ran into black teens, they pestered and jeered until fights would break out. Celeste and Lisa were quickly swept into one of these melees unwillingly. They had no time to think before it hit them head on. And it would be one of the biggest changes in their lives.

After Alan turned 17 at the end of June, July came and Lisa, Celeste, Alan, Ray, and Gerry were all walking in downtown Alexandria with their football buddies. The laughing teens had just come back from lunch and were heading towards Hammond High to play football on its field when they saw a group of young blacks walking towards them. They were fooling around and laughing, too. Carelessly shoving each other back and forth, they looked like they were having a great time. Celeste and Lisa couldn't help but smile, especially when they saw how cute some of them were. Just as the two groups were about to pass each other in front of a store that everyone labeled as "The Store," one black kid pushed his friend right into Lisa and Celeste on accident.

The cute boy immediately looked terrified and backed away. He stuttered, "I-I'm s-sorry... I just-"

Alan was steaming. He stomped right over to the black and glared straight at him. "What the heck do you think you're doing to my girlfriend and friend, you animal?" He stood in front of the two girls protectively.

Celeste stared at him in shock. "Alan! Why-"

A dark teen interrupted her. "My friend ain't no animal! You are, ya white freak!"

That was all the football players would take. They started to physically fight the black teens, who fought right back. Celeste and Lisa immediately tried to stop them by standing between two boys. It didn't help: Lisa only got socked in the stomach and Celeste got hit on the side of her head. In her dizziness, she could faintly hear Alan yelling, "Celeste! Lisa, take her and stay away!" Suddenly someone had grabbed Celeste's arm and she felt herself being pulled away from the commotion.

Lisa was hunched over, grasping her stomach, but she managed to croak, "Celeste? You okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. My head hurts. What about you?"

Lisa nodded slowly. "I just have to rest."

The two looked up at the fight just in time to see the store owner come out with a gun in hand and shout something about how the two opposing groups better leave right then. No one listened, still struggling and angrily striving away. Celeste saw with horror a black teen sneaking up behind Alan with fist ready, but Alan was already occupied with another black and didn't see him.

Suddenly, a shot rang out from the store owner's gun. The Negro behind Alan fell. Lisa screamed and Celeste turned her head away. The boys all stopped their pointless battle, the colored ones rushing over to their shot friend. They wailed and cried out in agony when he didn't wake up. The whites just stood staring in shock, except the store owner. He looked proud of himself. Celeste and Lisa looked at each other, Lisa with tears welling up in her eyes and Celeste with head still reeling. Both had the same horrifying idea: police. Lisa slowly walked over to the payphone down the street, still holding her sore stomach. She dialed 911 and whimpered the details to the person on the other end. By now, a crowd had formed around the outside of the store, and Celeste was completely surrounded by gaping onlookers. She heard someone calling her name, but wasn't sure if it was real or not: her head had started throbbing. She held it in her hands as Alan, Gerry, and some other football members worked their way through the crowd towards her.

Alan took Celeste in his arms and hugged her tightly. "Oh, man! Celeste! My gosh! Are you all right, love?"

Celeste felt all warm inside, despite her pounding headache. This was the first time Alan had ever hugged her, or called her "love," for that matter. Happily, she embraced him back and buried her head in his chest. "I'm okay. My head just hurts."

"Thank heaven," Alan mumbled, kissing the top of her head.

Without any warning at all, something stabbed Celeste's heart and she could feel herself breaking down. As Alan gently stroked her short hair, Celeste held him tight. Her words were whispered with immense sympathy. "Alan, he's... he's _dead_."

"Shh. It's okay. He deserved it."

The young woman looked up at him, hardly daring to believe what she'd heard. "_What_?"

"He deserved to get shot, Celeste. Think about it: he could've seriously hurt me. Don't you care?" Alan lifted her chin to look at him. 

She pulled away in disbelief. Just when she thought he cared by hugging her for the first time, he'd betrayed her in a way she hadn't thought possible. Her eyes brimming with tears, Celeste could feel her heart breaking as she whispered, "Alan!"

Unconcerned, he looked into her green eyes. Suddenly, he realized his mistake and blushed slightly, looking so guilty no one could deny he'd said what he did. Alan couldn't even meet his girlfriend's gaze. He quickly left her with the guys and rushed over to Lisa, who was just coming back from calling the police.

Celeste watched him help Lisa over to a bench. More football friends crowded around her. Then Alan snuck a peek at Celeste. She stared at him with teary eyes and wished she could die. A hand was on her shoulder now.

"Celeste, I-" Gerry started.

"Excuse me, Gerry," she interrupted, moving away and getting out of the crowd. She desperately looked around for a place to go for some privacy and spotted through her blurry eyes the black boy who'd bumped into her and Lisa. Slowly and dizzily walking over, she saw he was leaning against a tree with head in a hand. "I'm sorry about your friend."

The boy jumped and whirled around. He looked scared out of his wits at the very sight of the white girl who he'd unwillingly bumped. But, as he noticed she wasn't about to kill him, he relaxed slightly and hung his head, sticking his hands in his pockets. Celeste sadly thought that he looked too humble, too ready to listen to any white he came across. "Th-thank you, miss," he mumbled.

"Call me Celeste," she offered, sticking out her hand.

The boy reluctantly shook it, unsure of why the girl was being so nice to him. "Umm... okay. Petey Jones."

"Well, it's nice meeting you, Petey. Unfortunately, it was under a grim situation. I just want you to realize that I know you didn't shove me and my friend on purpose. You didn't do anything. Nothing here was your fault."

Petey nodded. "Thank-you, mi- uh... Celeste." He said her name like it pained him.

Celeste smiled sweetly nonetheless. "If there's anything you or your friends need, just give me a ring, okay, man? My family will get it for you. And don't worry: my dad's a lawyer, so it's not like we're broke or anything!"

The boy simply nodded again. As Celeste said good-bye and walked away, Petey called, "Uh... Celeste? Are you and your friend okay?"

Celeste was overjoyed at his concern for them, even though they were white. "Yes, Petey. We're fine. Thank you so much for asking." She wasn't sure, but as she left to walk over to Lisa, she thought she saw the cute boy smile.

~ ~ ~

The rest of the day was tense and strenuous. After numerous police questions, Celeste's mom had taken her and Lisa to the hospital just to be safe. Both had been checked out and everything was fine, and they had been released that night. Both had gone to bed exhausted.

The next morning, Celeste woke up late and slowly reached over to pick up her phone. Dialing Lisa's number, she asked her tired friend if she had known about Alan's hatred of blacks.

"I did, C. I thought you knew, too. I mean, practically everyone here grew up that way, learning to mistreat them and all," Lisa murmured.

"But you aren't that way!" Celeste argued, still not wanting to believe Alan's false ways.

Lisa sighed. "Thank goodness I'm not. My parents weren't born here and they learned the right way. Passing it on to me, they taught me everything, and in all honesty, I don't really know of anyone else in Alexandria besides you that views races the same way I do."

"My gosh," Celeste mumbled. "Coach and Sheryl, too?"  
"Them, too."

"I wish my boyfriend wasn't like this."

Lisa paused. "You're not even saying his name, C."

Celeste felt her temper flare up. "I'm sorry, Lisa. I just... I'm mad at him! I can't believe he didn't tell me. Well, I take that back. He probably didn't because he was so stupid as to assume that I was _exactly_ like him."

"Calm down! Man, you're steaming even over the phone!"

"How can I not be?" Celeste relayed the whole story of Alan hugging her and calling her "love." She poured out as best she could her emotions at that time. "I felt so secure, Lisa. Now I don't know if we'll ever be together again. And we just started going out four months ago!"

"I know. Pray, C. That's all we can do, really," Lisa decided.

Celeste sighed. She suddenly remembered her meeting with Petey. "Oh, Lisa! I can't believe I forgot to tell you this. I talked to the boy who'd bumped us, and he's really caring. His name's Petey Jones and he asked if we were okay. I said 'yeah' and 'don't worry about it, because it wasn't his fault.'"

"Okay. That _was_ nice of him. Don't you think he's cute?"

Celeste laughed. "Only you would think of cuteness at a time like this. Only you, Lisa!"

"But he was!"

"Yeah, okay. I better go now."

"Me, too. Bye!"

Celeste said good-bye and hung up. Just as she was about to get out of bed and go get breakfast, the phone rang shrilly. The noise affected her sore head so that it started to thump slightly. She grabbed the phone to stop the terrible annoyance. "Hello?"

"Oh, um... hi, Celeste," Alan's voice replied. "You feeling better?"

"Yeah. Sleep helped." _But not until your call came in and rang so loudly my head almost exploded,_ Celeste thought harshly.

"Good. Well, um... Coach called me about 20 minutes ago and said we're gonna get a new assistant coach. Black, too, which might seriously alter my opinion on whether I still want to try out for the team or not. But anyway... Coach also said practices are gonna start Saturday, so you and I... we won't be able to do anything together with the guys anymore. We'll be practicing."

_Oh, that's just too bad._ Instead, Celeste spoke monotone, "Yeah, I figured that would happen."

"Hey, look at the bright side! School's out, so we have all the weekdays off!"

_That's a bright side?_ Celeste thought, now regretting that school _was_ out. She really didn't care to see Alan right now. "A black assistant coach, you said?"

"Yeah," Alan replied a little too smoothly.

"Do you have a problem with that? Because I do want you to be on the team, you know."

"Heck, yeah. I... I have a problem with that, but if you want me to, I will," Alan stuttered guiltily.

An uncomfortable silence followed. Celeste waited, needless to say, impatiently for him to fess up and apologize. None came. She was almost ready to just hang up on him when she heard Alan clear his throat.

"Celeste, I-I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"I'm sorry you and Lisa had to get dragged into this."

Celeste was dumbfounded. Almost screaming, she cried, "Alan!!! I don't care if we were in this or not! That doesn't matter! What matters is your behavior towards that poor black! It hurt me, Alan. It hurt me deeply. I can't believe you're this... shallow."

Alan obviously didn't like being called "shallow" as he spoke strongly back, "Well, I'm not going to apologize for that. It's the way I am. If you can't accept that, then something's wrong with you, because I can't understand how you _can't_ hate those colored animals."

That was all she could or would take. Celeste slammed her phone down and started to cry. She couldn't believe it. People said relationships weren't always fun, and Celeste hadn't been able to grasp that fact until now.

~ ~ ~

The next few weeks were a nightmare. Alan and Celeste were _not_ talking to each other at all and no justice was done for the shot black, and his friends and family were not putting up with that. One Saturday afternoon, they bunched together in front of "The Store" and started shouting and threatening to burn the place down. Celeste was coming home from her two hours of work in the garage when she saw them. As she watched, Gerry, Alan, Ray, and another guy all came running down the street to check out the commotion. They were stopped by Yoast pulling up and speaking something to them. As they climbed into the back of his truck, Alan saw Celeste and caught her eye. She stared back sadly, wishing he hadn't wanted to go see the angry blacks and perhaps stir up more trouble. He stubbornly turned his head and stopped looking at her. Celeste sighed, watching him and the others ride off in Yoast's truck bed. Glancing one last time at the raucous mob as a black threw a small crate through the store's window, Celeste trudged home.

Lisa and Celeste had the privilege of meeting the new assistant coach as they were sitting and talking out on the Hammond football field one day late in June. His name was Coach Herman Boone, and he was so polite and gentleman-like that they both knew he didn't deserve to have so many people opposed to his new status as assistant coach. Then again, they knew ALL blacks didn't deserve the opposition they got.

August came, and more disturbing news hit: Yoast had been replaced by Boone. The whites were furious while the blacks rejoiced. Yoast made a speech in Hal's Restaurant which Celeste and Lisa attended, as well as the football boys, their parents, the press, and half the town of Alexandria. After revealing that he would be moving, Yoast was contradicted by Alan's father. Then Ray stood up and supported him. Next it was Alan with the words, "Coach, if you go, I go." Celeste shook her head and ran out of the restaurant. Lisa followed closely behind.

"C, I'm sorry."

"Thanks, Lisa," Celeste breathed. "But I think Alan and my relationship is going to be ending very soon."

~ ~ ~

On August 15, the two girls decided to wake up early and say good-bye to the guys before they left for Gettysburg College. Celeste and Lisa headed over to Coach Yoast and Sheryl after saying bye to their football friends, Alan excluded. The father and daughter duo were not leaving Alexandria after all, since he had decided to "work under" Boone and be the assistant coach. Tyrell was staying, too, to be a special team coach. Lisa talked with Sheryl while Celeste spoke to Yoast.

"Make sure you work those boys so we'll be as good as we were last year!" she directed him.

Coach laughed and promised, "Oh, I will. Or rather, Boone will." He became somber as he added, "I'm really sorry you and Lisa can't come. It's a real shame for Sheryl and I." Celeste merely nodded, and Yoast continued, "And I'm sorry things didn't work out between you and Alan."

"Yeah... me, too," Celeste mumbled wistfully, gazing at her supposed "boyfriend."

"You two were great together."

"Thank-you, sir."

Yoast smiled gently and shook her hand. Lisa hugged Sheryl and switched places with Celeste.

"I'll miss ya," Sheryl started out.

The older girl smiled in her sweet way. "I'll miss you, too, Sheryl. You boss the guys around, you hear?"

The little girl saluted. "Yes, ma'am!" She looked around at the mixture of races in the people and asked, "Celeste? Why don't you an' Lisa hate blacks?"

"Well, the Bible says that all men are created equal."

"Yeah, I know. So you don't got any bad feelin's toward 'em?" Sheryl prompted.

"None whatsoever."

The young girl seemed to ponder this. Celeste smiled and hoped with all her heart Sheryl would change her views on this point. She hugged the little girl and said, "Bye, Sheryl. Have fun, k?"

"I will. Bye!" She hugged Celeste back.

Lisa and Celeste said a final farewell to the two as Coach Boone arrived. He headed straight for Yoast, so Lisa and Celeste just walked away and chatted amongst themselves. They were both deeply grieving that they didn't have packed bags for this trip, but there was a glimmer of hope in their hearts that they would go next year. Celeste found her gaze drifting to Alan. She couldn't help it: she still had feelings for him and didn't want to break up. Suddenly, Alan looked at her and walked over. She turned her eyes to the ground as he approached and Lisa stepped back a few steps to give them some privacy. Alan put a hand on Celeste's right arm and lifted her chin to look at him with the other.

"Celeste, I just want to ask you to wait for me. I... I _do_ want to stay together with you. I'll find a way to." He forced the words out slowly.

She smiled slightly. "I'm glad you're willing to make an effort," she whispered happily.

Alan rubbed her cheek and then kissed her hand. "Bye, Celeste."

"Bye, Alan." Celeste watched him walk back over to the guys before she sighed. "That's the first time I've talked to him and said his name in about a month," she murmured to Lisa.

"I know. You okay?" Lisa asked, concerned for her friend.

"Yes, I am. He said he wants to stay together and will find a way to do that. I feel a bit better now." Celeste grinned.

Lisa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know. I heard. So you're saying Alexandria's in for more of the infamous couple of Alan and Celeste?"

"You better bet your John Brown hind it is! At least, I hope so... I don't know exactly yet," she replied with regret. "WAIT!!! You were LISTENING?!"

Lisa's eyes widened. Just as Celeste was about to rebuke her friend teasingly, something caught her eye. It was Gerry and Ray. Talking to Boone. Judging by the looks on their faces, they seemed to be trying to give commands to him. "Uh-oh..." Celeste murmured, motioning in that direction.

"What're they DOING?" Lisa was shocked.

Just then, Boone called out, "Ladies and gentlemen! I got an announcement to make for ya. We got Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin going to camp with us here this year. Jerry tells the jokes, Dean sings the songs, and gets the girl. Let's give 'em a round of applause." He started clapping... alone. No one else did.

But Celeste and Lisa had started giggling and they would've burst into full-fledged laughter if people had not turned and glared at them with scolding looks. The two immediately shut their mouths and acted like nothing had happened. Several minutes passed before Boone demanded all the boys get off their "seperate" busses. The two girls could catch wisps of Boone's yelling: "I don't care if you're black, green, blue, white, or orange... defensive players on this side... offensive... let's move, let's move, let's move!... you and you: sit together... get comfortable, too... same one you'll be rooming with for the duration of this camp." The boys all trudged onto their assigned bus. Celeste saw Petey and waved. He smiled slightly and gave a brief nod back. After a final wave to Sheryl, the two girls watched the busses leave and then headed home.

~ ~ ~

Alan sat on the bus among absolute silence. No one was speaking, no one was talking. He could feel the thick tension of hatred hanging in the air. It weighed down on everyone's shoulders, but it attacked Alan's heart personally, pressing around it, nagging it, suffocating it. The only thing it brought to mind was Celeste. Celeste...

Alan lowered his head and stared at his lap. He liked her too much to suddenly be torn from from her, especially by this painful feeling conjured up by a strong rejection of blacks. That's all it was, too. A simple, sinful, ages-long rejection. Everyone disliked at least one person in their lives. Alan knew he did. Kip Tyler. And Kip was white.

It struck Alan that if white people could hate blacks AND whites, something must be similar between the two opposing groups. Didn't blacks hate the whites and other blacks, as well? An obvious truth was right in front of Alan's eyes now; he saw the light. Blacks and whites were the same. They were both human, both were people.

"'...'Cause, baby, there ain't no mountain high enough...'" Some black had started singing with another. They only got to finish the "valley" line when the black in front of Alan told the first black to shut up. The singing black looked disgusted with his friend but closed his mouth. The black in front of Alan then told the second singer to be quiet as well. Alan heard Gerry say, "You got that right," and saw the "shut-up" black tell Gerry to be quiet, too. Those were the last words spoken by anyone on the whole ride to Gettysburg College. Alan sighed and put his head in his hands, the recently sung song reminding him again of Celeste. He _had_ to stay with her, he just _had_ to. He'd try to find some way to rid his dislike of blacks. After all, if they were people just like he was, there had to be a solution. It'd be hard to find and difficult to accomplish, but he'd do anything to keep Celeste.

When Alan sighed again, stressed, and rubbed his face, he looked up and saw Gerry looking at him sympathetically. The older boy knew Alan's problem and realized the song only brought it up. Alan gave him a reassuring look to tell him he'd figure everything out sometime. Gerry turned back around, satisfied in his mind, but Alan leaned back and placed his head on the back of his seat, staring at the ceiling and completely as not satisfied in his mind as he had ever been.

~ ~ ~

"Lisa? Could you hand me that tool over there?" Celeste called from underneath the old pickup.

Lisa frowned and sounded annoyed. "How can I? There's stuff EVERYWHERE!!!"

Her friend quickly glanced in Lisa's direction and specified, "The one next to the wheel on Chad's car. To the right... No! Yeah! That one." Lisa handed it to her and Celeste used it to fix something on the truck. The beat-up vehicle was now in Celeste's possession. She had gotten it towed from the empty lot when she'd found out it was up for grabs because it was ruined. But it wasn't ruined to Celeste. She had already fixed it up enough in the past week and a half so that it would run when only a few more parts were installed. However, Celeste's attention span for the truck was dying as Alan and thoughts relating to him creeped into her mind. She missed him so much...

"That's it!" Celeste threw her tools to the ground and got up from under the truck. She wiped her hands off on a rag and fixed herself to look acceptable.

"What're you doing?" Lisa asked with wide eyes.

"Taking a break. I'm going to see Mrs. Bosley. Wanna come, man?"

"No, that's okay. I want to go home," Lisa admitted. "See you later, C!"

"Bye, Lisa," Celeste mumbled as she ran inside. Dashing upstairs and into her room, she carefullyput on her locket from Alan and stared at it in the mirror. A wave of sadness washed over her and she sighed. Hopefully Mrs. Bosley had news of Alan. More particularly of his decision to stay with Celeste or not.

~ ~ ~

"Hi, Mom!" Alan spoke into the phone.

"Sweetie! How are you doing? How's camp?" Mrs. Bosley's cheerful tone came back over.

Alan had to admire how much his mother cared for him. It was a nice thought, especially at times like this when he was feeling lonely and depressed. He smiled and replied, "I'm fine, Mom. Coach Boone is giving us a real hard time up here if we want to stay on the team! I've had to run a mile a few times when I messed up or didn't do something right."

"You poor thing!"  
"No, it's great! I've learned a lot in many areas of life."

"What do you mean, honey?"

Alan gathered his words together and explained, "Well, first of all, I know discipline a lot better now. It's drilled into my brain every day by the coaches. Secondly, I'm stronger physically and I realize that I wasn't as buff as I thought I was before!" At that, Alan's mom let out a sweet laugh. Alan listened, the sound reminding him of home, and continued. "And most important of all, I've learned that teamwork is very important. We won't win without it."

Mrs. Bosley asked, "So... you and the blacks are getting along?"

Alan was overjoyed he could answer positively. "Yes, Mom. We're all getting along. And don't worry! The blacks aren't as terrible as we think they are. Would you be willing to give them a chance? It's well worth it."

"Oh, I'm willing, honey. I just don't think your father will."

Alan sighed. "Yeah, man. That's what I'm depressed about. And Ray; he's not changing his mind, either. It's hurting me to see him behave like this. Ray's my bud, Mom, but he's treating the blacks like dirt." He lowered his voice in shame. "Like I used to treat them."

"I'm sure everything will turn out fine. God has a plan, whether it is painful or joyful," came his mother's perfect advice.

"You're so right, Mom," Alan sighed.

"I'm a mother. Of course I'm right!"

Alan laughed and then asked, "So how's everyone?"

"Oh, everyone's fine. Celeste was just over," his mom informed him.

That sparked his interest. "Celeste?"

"Yes! She came over just to visit. She's the sweetest girl, Alan; she helped make dinner for your father and I tonight. You're very lucky," Mrs. Bosley said.

Alan's heart yearned for his girlfriend. "I know."

~ ~ ~

Celeste flipped through a horse magazine as she lounged around on her bed. The phone rang. She picked it up and mumbled unexcitedly, "Hello?"

"Celeste!"

"Alan?!" Celeste cried, sitting straight up on the bed in utter joy. "Why didn't you call? I've missed you so much! How are you? How's camp?"

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA!!! Man, I've missed your craziness, Celeste! I've missed you, too!" Alan laughed. He relayed the whole story of camp and getting along with the blacks. There was pure happiness in his voice just from hearing her again. "Oh... and I didn't call because I wasn't sure I wanted to talk to you until I'd figured out what I wanted to do with our relationship."

Celeste realized she was starting to cry with joy as she choked out, "That's perfectly fine! And I just can't express how glad I am that you're getting along with the blacks. I told you they weren't bad!"

"I know. And I'm sorry! Will you forgive me?" Alan pleaded over the phone.

"Yes, I will! I'm just ecstatic we're still together!"

"Me, too!" Alan sighed. Celeste heard a pause. "Are you crying, Celeste???"

She laughed, wiping a tear from her cheek. "Yeah, I am, man! But they're happy tears; don't worry!"

"Good!" he said. There was some yelling and scratching noises in the background and Celeste heard someone tell Alan to stop flirting and get off the phone. "Celeste, hold on a second," Alan told her. She heard him yell back to the people something about shutting up and the importance of the call. "Sorry, man!"

"That's okay! Who was that?" Celeste giggled.

"Oh, some of the guys in line who are waiting for the phone. Petey especially. He's such a joker," Alan replied in disgust. "You've met him, so you know, Celeste!" Another yell of "get off the phone" and Alan replied with a shout of "shut up."

"You know what? I don't want you to get beat up by any of the guys, so I'll leave you, okay?" Celeste laughed.

"Sure. I'll be home in a few days! Oh, and there's this new guy in our class who's such a gentleman. He's _so_ nice! With that and his good looks, he's a perfect match for Lisa!" Alan mumbled quietly into the phone, a hint of slyness in his voice.

Celeste laughed. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Yep!"

"All right! It's a plan then!" Celeste declared firmly.

"HI, CELESTE!!!" someone yelled over the phone. Then Alan's voice came over again. "The guys want to say 'hi!'"

Celeste heard rounds of "hi, Celeste" and "we miss you, man." She wasn't sure but she thought she heard Gerry yell, "Give Alan a big smooch when he comes home!" She shook her head and loudly spoke, "Hi, guys! Miss you all! Stay out of trouble without me!"

There were cheers in the background as Alan yelled into the phone, "Bye, Celeste! See you soon!"

"Oh, wait, Alan!"

"What?"

"You ready to take me out to dinner now?"

"Am I... wha-" There was a pause. "Oh, CRAP!!!"

"And you said this bet would be easy!" Celeste roared.

"You stink. Bye, Celeste!"

"Bye, Alan," she chuckled as he hung up. She sat on her bed in a glorious daze until she squealed with delight and fell backwards, flat on her back and arms outstretched in happiness. A huge grin spread across Celeste's face.

__

Coming soon: Part Four! So... what do you think so far??? I'm dying to know, so please drop me a note by reviewing! Any comments, questions, suggestions, and/or complaints would be great! Well, no, the complaints wouldn't be great... just review, okay? I'm losing my mind. ;)


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